Funny how their tune changes...

Along with all the faculty and staff at the University today, I got an email from Carol Carrier, the Vice President of Human Relations. This email announces the exciting results of a survey they've taken to show just how much they care about us. A few weeks back, I got an exciting email announcing a slight pay increase for graduate students.

I first got to know Carol Carrier's name when the clerical worker's went on strike. Then the emails I got from her were describing the risks of striking (lost wages) and explaining that non-striking staff (such as graduate students) may be called upon to make up for the missing labor.

Did I mention that grad students are currently in the process of forming a union? Funny how the administration's tune changes when they're trying to prevent a union drive (employee satisfaction surveys! small raises!) as opposed to when established unions are threatening a strike to prevent pay & benefit cuts (you'll lose pay! co-workers will resent you!).