Professors on STRIKE?

You guys may or may not care about this but me and thousands of UH-Manoa students are biting our nails right now.

Today the professors union at my school are deciding whether or not to go on strike. As of today they are legally allowed to. The governor's being an arse, and the profs have been waiting for their raise for the past two years. They're one of the most underpaid professors in the country so I think they should get what they deserve.

True, a teachers strike and cancelling classes sound ideal...but I'm working on a tight schedule to graduate this fall...so basically if the semester's cancelled--I'm screwed.

I have no idea when this thing is going to be resolved!

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*I'm an Alpha Gam...Yes I am, Yes I am!*

[Allie_XO]

Oh my goodness - I would be in Panics-ville. Part of me thinks that teachers should be more responsible and think of the students, but my mom is a teacher so I understand what it is like to be counting on a raise and it never comes. Is there any way you could tranfer somewhere else if they really went on strike? I really hope everything works out OK for you!

Allie

[This message has been edited by Allie_XO (edited January 29, 2001).]

There are two other universities in the state not affiliated with the UH system and that's Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific. Both schools cost big bucks just for a semester!!

The UH system includes the main Manoa campus, the community colleges, UH-Hilo (the Big Island), and UH-West Oahu...and their professors belong to the Professors union.

It wouldn't make sense for me to transfer out to a private school because the concentrations of my major aren't offered there (I checked it out). And I'd also be risking it--the classes may/may not have transferable credits.

What I'm thinking is--if the semester were to be cancelled, there would nothing we could probably do about it. I've been hearing rumors about tuition not being refunded (it'd be impossible with the size of the school) ...but if they all gave us tuition wavers for the next semester, then it'd be okay--I just feel bad for those people who have grad schools and jobs lined up after the spring semester.

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*I'm an Alpha Gam...Yes I am, Yes I am!*

[CutiePie2000]

Hi TeenyWahine,
A similar situation happened here in Toronto at York University. The strike has been resolved and the term can still be salvaged. However, the term will end late now, which is a stinker for grad students, people with jobs lined up, etc.

We're keeping our fingers crossed for you!

It's been a while since this message was last posted, but I thought I'd give you all an update on my situation.

The teachers decided not to go on strike at the beginning of the semester because they felt that the governor should be given another chance to meet their needs. So far, the gov hasn't done squat and another vote will be cast next week. If the teachers decide to walk out, they can do so as early as April 2. Our spring break begins on March 24 and ends on April 1st...we're looking at an extended spring break. People ask me when I expect to graduate...and it really breaks my heart when I can't say when....because I really don't know. I've worked my ass (pardon my French) off this semester to get the grades I have so far! The professors don't want to leave their students, but can you really blame them?

Last week we had a huge student protest which included students from my campus and from the 4 community colleges included in our system. All their professors belong to the union too. The mood on my campus is not so good right now. It's a big mess here, no one really knows what's going on, and it's difficult to concentrate knowing that your professors are thinking of striking.

To make matters worse, our state public school teachers are also in demand for a pay raise. They were promised one a few years ago and never got it.

What the hell is going on with my state government???

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"Talk doesn't cook rice."--Someone smart

Visit Alpha Gamma Delta-Delta Sigma chapter!

[amycat412]

Wow!!! And I thought we had it bad with the Los Angeles riots in the wake of the Rodney King verdict during finals my last year of school! (No finals at all that year for seniors!)

I hope everything works out for you and your fellow UH students!! Keep us posted!

Amy

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"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt

[This message has been edited by amycat412 (edited March 15, 2001).]

[gphi2k]

Originally posted by CutiePie2000:
Hi TeenyWahine,
A similar situation happened here in Toronto at York University. The strike has been resolved and the term can still be salvaged. However, the term will end late now, which is a stinker for grad students, people with jobs lined up, etc.

We're keeping our fingers crossed for you!

Actually, the York thing was t.a.s, not profs, which made it worse. because unlike profs, t.as do all the marking so nothing was getting done. and profs can't do their job with out their t.a.'s help. it was a disaster. the annoying thing is that york had the exact same strike two years ago. so anyone who started to go there 2 and three years ago got hit twice. It's crazy.
Not sure what happened this year, but two years ago, the students lost their reading week (a.k.a spring break) because of it. And yes, they ended their semester late. It was cruddy all the way around.

University of Toronto had a t.a. strike last year. It was really bad. A lot of my profs cut out half the curriculum because he had no way to teach it and test on it.
So I've been there too. And it does mess you up and throw you off track. The only thing i can suggest is what I did. Stay on top of your readings, cross your fingers and hope for the best =)

Leslie