
Keep Unions Out of Grad School - pseudolus
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-06-12/university-of-chicago-walkout-keep-unions-out-of-grad-school
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geezerjay
From the POV of a former researcher who abandoned his PhD due to being fed up
with the constant abuse and lack of perspectives, this article is infuriating.
It sounds like a praise of indentured servitude. The argument is exactly the
same: they don't need rights because they are receiving training.

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aurizon
We all know how that works - unions increase wages and benefits, if the school
has a hard cap on the dollars it has to engage fewer grads. In addition, we
have all seen the aged grad student - 6 years on his PhD, with a union, he
does not care - he has seniority. I could go on. In essence a grad school is a
golden opportunity to advance your self in leading institutions - why hurt it?

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jgamman
I disagree. The other thing unions create are standard working conditions.
Some supervisors/departments are terrible - even within the same dept/uni.

Grad school isn't about the money but it is all about the supervisor/student
relationship. The power imbalance is extreme and sits with the supervisor - a
6 year PhD is not something most people want, they want to graduate and earn
some $$, but another year can generate a couple extra papers for the
supervisor...

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patrick5415
I think that somehow correcting the power imbalance is the key to improving
the lives of grad students. In most normal jobs, if your boss is a jerk, you
typically have the ability to leave and go somewhere else, and quite possibly
end up better compensated as a result. It is exceedingly difficult to switch
phd advisors, especially without sustaining a significant setback in your
graduate career. I believe this one of the leading factors in exploitive
advisor-grad relationships.

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adultSwim
lol, no

