I resent the fact that APUS has unilaterally endorsed a strike by TAs without consulting the APUS membership prior to taking such a position. As a part-time undergraduate student I am appalled at the presumption of APUS to speak on my behalf on such an issue. I would like it known that APUS does not speak for me with respect to the strike by the TAs. I do not support the strike. In a time when unions representing the working class are portrayed as money hungry socialists unaware of the financial straits of their employers, instead of a group of average people demanding fair wages, I am impressed that the conviction of TAs has remained unshaken.
Many people suggest that TAs get another job to cover their expenses.
This seems to be an ill-conceived solution brought about by the anger many feel at the 'inconvenience' ofthe strike. I neither understand nor respect the bitterness I see in myfellow students who blame the TAs for loss of tutorial hours and tuition money. Others have argued that as undergraduates they must work part-time to make ends meet and that their wages are nowhere near what TAs are paid. Also as an undergraduate, I expressed the same frustrations and resentment towards TAs when they went on strike in my first year. Now that I am a TA, I realize that if not for the efforts of my predecessors, I doubt my current benefits would be as they are.