I Have To Support The Teaching Assistants...

.....and if people want to put an end to this dispute the province has to step up and set rules governing the disparity between many teaching assistants and professors; $17-20K and $80/$120K annually; tenure versus constant flux, etc. Let's keep in mind they are called "support" staff for a reason......

WAGES NOT THE ONLY ISSUE

I'm a third-year student at York. People complain that the teaching assistants shouldn't be asking for wage increases for a number of reasons. But wages are not the only issue. They also want job security and benefits. People who work in such important jobs that affect the future of countless students should not have to re-apply for their jobs every four or eight months -- that's ridiculous. We need the TAs. Professors can't do the job on their own. Many TAs make incredible, long-lasting positive impacts on their students -- they should be thanked and supported. York is holding students hostage just as much as people say the union is. Binding arbitration is not negotiation. York should go back to the table and negotiate with the union on all the issues. People should pressure the school to end the strike. Students paid tuition and have a contract with the university. Let's demand they work for us by getting back into negotiations to get us all back in class.

MICHELLE MALDONADO

(Assistants are great, but they are the assistants, and shutting down university classes has to stop)