Also, it is important to note that not only do PhD departments exploit graduate students, which not only is "unfair" because students are so grossly underpaid but also because this exploitation is undoubtedly part of the reason why students have been taking increasingly longer to finish their PhDs. Thus, the tenure of their underpayment is increasing because they do not have the time to devote to their dissertations and thus cannot get out and get those "real" jobs.
Oh, yes, and one more thing: at what point will schools again begin to talk about educating young people? The use of graduate students and their underpayment means that many students take courses from people who are tired, unmotivated, and temporary, thereby reducing the possibility for building long-term relationships (mentoring) with a faculty member. It also means that many departments have scattered curriculum because you have one temporary teacher after another teaching core courses and electives and fewer full-time, tenured faculty to sit on the committees to plan the overall curriculum. This means that students can't plan their coursework out over a number of years, knowing that courses will be offered, because graduate student instructors may not be there in three years. Further, the education experience is disjointed because there is no longer a faculty committed to a comprehensive set of courses.
All this goes to say that organizing graduate students is not important for the workers, but also for the students they teach.
-- Heather Boushey, Ph.D. Research Department NYC Housing Authority 250 Broadway, Room 711 New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-306-3372; Fax: 212-306-7905 hboushey at csi.com