"Problem is, “graduate students” are not students. They are workers."
Graduate students are both.
My students benefit heavily from me not necessarily treating them to the same standards as I would treat a full time research employee. And while they are the primary workhorses of research, there are large swathes of their graduate student careers where they are not particularly (or often negatively) productive.
I will take a chance on a promising student straight out of undergrad who seems like they might be interesting, knowing that it will take them some time to get their feet under them.
That would be very different if they were employees.
Should we build in more protection and better benefits for graduate students, both from the perspective of them being students and employees? Absolutely. But they are students.
Graduate students are both.
My students benefit heavily from me not necessarily treating them to the same standards as I would treat a full time research employee. And while they are the primary workhorses of research, there are large swathes of their graduate student careers where they are not particularly (or often negatively) productive.
I will take a chance on a promising student straight out of undergrad who seems like they might be interesting, knowing that it will take them some time to get their feet under them.
That would be very different if they were employees.
Should we build in more protection and better benefits for graduate students, both from the perspective of them being students and employees? Absolutely. But they are students.