Saved from my own naivety
A couple weeks ago, I was sitting around the CMS Great Hall dining room table with a bunch of CMS folks, talking about this and that. At some point I mentioned in passing that I had gotten a TAship with about 45 students, or 3 sections. Not knowing the difference between the notification letter alerting me to the TAship (which was what I had received), and the actual contract (which I had not yet received), and mistaking the latter for the former, I also casually mentioned that I thought I was getting 50 hours for this appointment, as the letter stated that I was getting 50 hrs minimum.
The indignant roar that arose from the table caught me by complete surprise, but also kind of really warmed my heart. From the ensuing heated discussion I gathered that (1) 50 hours for 3 sections of students is tantamount to slave labor, (2) I owe it to myself and TAs everywhere to report this atrocity if this should indeed be the case, and (3) everyone really looks out for each other round these parts. I must say how grateful I am for (3), cause even as I was telling the group gathered around the table what I thought my workload/hours ratio was, I had no idea that that was even unusual, let alone flat-out ridiculous. I was totally prepared to just accept it, no questions asked.
Anyway, I assured everyone that I would keep them posted about the outcome--I finally got my contract this week, and it turns out that I got 170 (maybe 175? Can't remember, but in the 170s anyway) hours for 3 sections. Much more reasonable :), so thank goodness for that, but more importantly, many thanks to all of you (LJers and non-LJers alike) who totally stuck up for me and made sure I knew what I should be getting. Although it ended up not being the case here, and (hopefully!) hardly ever happens, if you guys hadn't stopped me and said something, I could have been taken advantage of pretty badly. Thanks again <3
The indignant roar that arose from the table caught me by complete surprise, but also kind of really warmed my heart. From the ensuing heated discussion I gathered that (1) 50 hours for 3 sections of students is tantamount to slave labor, (2) I owe it to myself and TAs everywhere to report this atrocity if this should indeed be the case, and (3) everyone really looks out for each other round these parts. I must say how grateful I am for (3), cause even as I was telling the group gathered around the table what I thought my workload/hours ratio was, I had no idea that that was even unusual, let alone flat-out ridiculous. I was totally prepared to just accept it, no questions asked.
Anyway, I assured everyone that I would keep them posted about the outcome--I finally got my contract this week, and it turns out that I got 170 (maybe 175? Can't remember, but in the 170s anyway) hours for 3 sections. Much more reasonable :), so thank goodness for that, but more importantly, many thanks to all of you (LJers and non-LJers alike) who totally stuck up for me and made sure I knew what I should be getting. Although it ended up not being the case here, and (hopefully!) hardly ever happens, if you guys hadn't stopped me and said something, I could have been taken advantage of pretty badly. Thanks again <3