GSOC demands unreasonable for NYU

GSOC+demands+unreasonable+for+NYU

Anthony Sganga, Contributing Writer

One day away from a potential strike, it has become clear that the demands of the Graduate Student Organizing Committee are both excessive and unjustified. The union’s revised demands  are “100 percent health care, support for student workers with families, tuition remission for working PhDs and fair annual raises.” These changes would affect over 1,000 graduate students who are NYU employees.

GSOC states: “NYU can afford this: for example, just half of one executive level NYU administrator’s salary can fund healthcare for all of us who currently receive no support.” Using NYU President John Sexton’s salary, which for 2014-15 is $1.5 million, would mean health care would cost the university approximately $750,000. However, the employer contribution for health care to an employee in New York state is $4,865. Using this figure, this would equal $4.8 million for 1,000 graduate students. While not exorbitant, this is still not true to the union’s argument.

But what is exorbitant is the total cost of the package the union is seeking. Tuition remission for working doctoral students would cost the university $49,728 per student in lost income. This would add up quickly.

The argument made by the GSOC is that NYU has a $399 million surplus, making the figures above feasible for the university. While the past year has been successful for NYU, this number is an outlier, not the norm. In 2013 and 2012, NYU’s surplus has been $112 million and $50 million, respectively.

In his email to the university, NYU provost David McLaughlin warned about the financial implications such a deal could have on the university. “We cannot, however, agree to an unreasonable settlement that our university cannot afford,” McLaughlin said.

Union members and students alike have scoffed at this. While NYU could, in theory, afford the loss in revenue using this year’s numbers, in previous years the total would put the university in the red. Ultimately, there is no guarantee that NYU will have sizable surpluses in the coming years, making these costs unsustainable.

But remove projected costs for a minute and consider a larger question. What entitles these students to raises? For all intents and purposes, when viewed in the spectrum of what they do — teaching and conduct research — these students are entry level. When compared to adjuncts, associate professors and tenured faculty, teaching assistants are handsomely compensated — they receive the same rate that adjuncts are given per teaching contact hour. This doesn’t quite back up the argument that graduate students are unappreciated.

With a package that offers tuition remission and a stipend, union members have little to complain about. GSOC should accept the university’s offer and settle negotiations before embarking on a needless strike that will hurt both students and NYU.

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A version of this article appeared in the Monday, March 9 print edition. Email Anthony Sganga at [email protected].