COMMENTARY
gtfs need to take union responsibilities seriously
By Chris Brady
The recent controversy regarding the
Graduate Teaching Fellows Federa
tion and its duties to its mem
bership confronts issues that really
should he addressed from time to time
This is because as nominally sentient be
ings, we should know what we are doing
I write ns a full member of the GTFF The
GTFF is a Intior union Hac k in the t'l/Os.
graduate teaching fellows formally band
ed together as a group of equals to negoti
ate working conditions and pav scales
with their employer, the University To
protect the gains made by their organiza
tion, these workers took the GTFF
through the legal procedures that would
authenticate the union as the legitimate
and sole representative of GTFs in the
collective bargaining process at the Uni
versity. The most important step in this
process was the democratic decision ex
pressed bv the vote of a mnjoritv of GTFs
to form a union.
But a majority does not mean every
one Workers get a pay packet in
exchange for the performance of certain
tasks. Some GTFs may not regard them
solves ns workers in this sense Some
GTFs mn\ prefer !o dts< redd their role
personally in the current ext hange of
funds for their efforts, although I am sure
they would not reject the money itself,
nor any increase in its amount Some
GTFs may rationalize their low paid jobs
as an investment in their future profes
sional status This elevates their i ondi
tion beyond that of mere labor, and
certainly downplays the ni tivist role of
union participation Some may even
resent the class stigma of labor union
membership The law mokes allowam es
for such dissent front the majority of the
two-tiered dues structure of the union
Whereas union memlters that is, work
ers — in agreement with the purpose and
practice of the GTT'F pay tfieir dues to the
union ns full members, GTFs who don't
believe in the union — hut who never
theless benefit from its endeavors must
contribute by law a mm h smaller fraction
of their pay packet as their Fair Share
dues Full members pay ! ‘It percent of
their gross, or 0.3 pert ent more than Fair
Share members.
Full members are the only ones who
may vote tn the union, hut all members
benefit to llu? same degree from their
membership. All members art' protected
bv grievance prcx edures. allowed to par
In ipate in the health insurance plan, and
privileged to collec t inc reases in pay
negotiated by the union's representatives
The same publications are sent out by the
union to the membership as a whole, irw
spec live of membership status But the
union i annot fore e its membership to
take noth e of the communications initi
ated by the union apparatus The level of
involvement in union ac tivity by mem
bers is voluntary If we as members feel
that the communication within our union
is msuffic lent, then we ns the members,
that is as the active constituents, as the
dvnamu components, the operative parts
of the union, we should do something
about it We should know our union
offic e phone numbers, its e-mail address,
where the offic e is, our offit ers or at least
one or two of them, our department
representatives if we have them (I am the
history repL and to what wo are entitled.
Hut I hope people don't think thov have
purc hased some sort of valet ser\ ice c on
troc t bv their pavment of union dues If
the union is to c arry out policies of inc lu
sion, it requires a reciprocal Inclusive
action by its members. This is the only
way to avoid the top-down or mob union
ism of the typo some in the media arid
management love to caricature ns tin'
norm in workers' organizations. To
address the most recent controversy, we
must notify all that one's mistake cannot
lie turned into an advantage for which the
rest of us will pay If some few among us
suggest that one's negligent e. willful or
careless, should be recompensed by the
main. we should remind those few, and
that one, that that is not what wo in the
union are all about If, however, any crea
tive ideas or solutions to problems per
i eived in our pror edures can be put for
ward. we should, and willingly. even
happily, consider them 1 have met some
good people in our I.oi at fi-t-l People
who work hard at their jobs, take their
union responsibilities seriously, and val
ue their important roles as teat hers in our
six iotv We must work together to make it
work
Chris lirady is the history department s
representative to the Graduate leaching
Follow s Federation
LETTERS
Recourse
I am writing in response to an
article published in the M.n 12
edition of the Hint-raid written
by Pat Daly. On May 10. Men
and Women Against Rape spon
sored a slide show bv Stopping
Violence Against Women titled
"Pornography: A Practice of
Inequality." Mr. Daly writes
that: "SW’AV members never
said pornography causes rape,
but they gave statistics support
ing that assumption. " and goes
on to list some of those statis
tics. Later, in an accompanying
article. Daly quoted sociologist
Diana Russell as saying:
"Pornography clearly does not
cause rape." 1 must agree with
both of these quotes. However, I
must add a few comments of my
own
I myself would bo tho first to
say that porn tint’s not cause
rapt> 1 would also stiv tb.it inti
Semitic literature does not cause
genocide However, Ibis is not to
snv that thfsf typos of material
art> bv any moans harmless
Pornography dot’s not cause
rape, but it does ro in fort « rape
myths and thus contributes to
tho rape culture While anti se
mitit 'white supremacist litera
tim! does not cause genocide, it
definitely reinforces eth
nic-rat oil stereotypes and thus
contributes to ethnic-racial vio
lence.
Mr. Daly quotes Roy Z.um
stein. an adult bookstore owner,
in response to the topic of snuff
films as saying: ”! certainly
wouldn't carry that kind of
material, those kinds of things
are only found underground
While Mr /.uniilum mav not
t arrv actual snuff films I'm
quite sum ht> dons < arrv "pseu
do-snuff " If he i .irrics Hustler.
then mv suspicions ore con
firmed Mr Daly conveniently
forgot to mention one such
pseudo snuff" layout featured
in Hustler The layout featured
four snapshots of naked, dis
rnemhered and decapitated
women's bodies that appeared
to l>e stapled onto ,i background
of human flesh, along with an
assortment of severed nipples
and clitorises
As for the assumption that
society and the legal system
would not allow these types of
materials to exist, it was not
until 19H4 (only ten years ago)
that the 1' S. Supreme Court out
lawed child pornography
Today, in 19114. it is still legal to
circulate photographs or vid
eotapes of <K itiiil rapes as "free
speech ’ While tin' survivor of
sui h o i rime i an sue for the rape
itself, slii" lie has no legal
recourse to get the material re
moved from i in illation The
largest grossing porn film ever
made, Deep Throat, is proof
l.indn Mari iano was forced at
gunpoint to do that film, and did
not receive a single pennv in
payment
In premeditated defense of the
inevitable debate this topii. is
sure to present. I am not ad
vim altng i ensorxhip I am advo
cating legal recourse This is
something that all woman who
believe in the equality of the
sexes ( an advm ate
Melissa Adams
Co-Director
Men and Women
Against Rape
LETTERS POLICY
Thu Oregon Pailv Fmrrald will attempt to print till letters
containing < onummls on topics of intnrust to tIn* University
aimmumt v
Totters to the editor must he limited to no more than 250
words, legible, signed anil the ideotifii ation of the writer must
Ih» verified when the letter is submitted
The kmrrvld reserves the right to edit any letter for length or
style
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