That situation has existed for decades, the result of a view that they are, first and foremost, students. Given that status, they've had little choice over the years but to keep silent and wait until they could enter the "real world" upon graduation.
In increasing numbers, however, graduate students are demanding that their contributions to academe be recognized as true labor, and that they be accorded the same benefits that go to anyone earning a paycheck. Toward that end, thousands of them have affiliated with labor unions, joining the ranks of coal miners, truck drivers, and office workers.
At some schools, such as the University of Oregon in Eugene, graduate student unions have received official recognition from the state. At others, such as the University of California, Berkeley, the courts have been asked to decide students' collective bargaining rights. And last fall, 2,400 graduate students at the University of Massachusetts, ...
