Grad students losing funding, overworked
Teaching and graduate assistants at the University of Windsor have voted 77 per cent in favour of a strike. Union president Denton Cockburn told the Windsor Star that his members are concerned over job security and workloads. For graduate assistants, Cockburn says, some of them had lost their funding despite being promised a set amount when accepted to the university. “This is pretty much the only source of funding for (graduate students). Some students have needed to withdraw or take time off,” he said. For teaching assistants, the union says, in some cases they are being asked to grade 100 papers in 10 hours. “This is upsetting for students. They spend hours on these papers,” Cockburn said. The union says it is urging students and parents to contact administrators to lobby a restart to negotiations.