Over 400 teaching assistants walked out of their jobs yesterday, and will be staying out today, to protest the refusal of the chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign to recognize them as a bargaining unit. The job action---necessitated say the TA's by the unresponsiveness of the chancellor to less disruptive tactics---has received a mixed response from undergraduates. While many students are upset about the timing of the strike, coming two weeks before final exams, others are supportive of the TA's who they agree are underpaid.
See "U. of I. teaching assistants walk out", STEPHANIE BANCHERO,, Chicago Tribune, November 28, 2001