According to a recent story in The Huffington Post, there are many college professors who are losing their jobs - such as they are - in this time of economic downturn. These professors, known officially as "adjunct professors", are, literally, temps. They are brilliant men and women, with PHDs and publications and decades of experience and research behind them, that are hired like WalMart employees. They are hired part-time, given no benefits, skimpy pay, and can be let go at a moments' notice.
Some examples from the article:
- A writer who taught for more than twenty years at a private Southern California college was paid so little, he had to work the graveyard shift at airport gift shops.
- Another professor made a 4 hour commute to teach a class for 27 years, but was only paid $3,000 a semester. Now, he's lost his job because the school could hire someone for less, in this terrible economy.
So why do these colleges and universities, that ask for 40 or 50 grand a semester take such advantage over these people? Simply put, because they can. There are no laws or regulations backing up the professors, they have no unions to fight for them, and there are always others who would eagerly take their jobs if they could. It's like swimming upstream with no arms or legs-impossible. The professors are helpless against the power of the institution.
These colleges and universities, that bill themselves as "guardians of knowledge" and "champions of the arts", are really no better than the chain box stores that screw their employees to give the CEOs a few million more. At least with WalMart, the employees they're screwing are in a position where the job is all they've got - the schools are screwing some of the most brilliant people of our time, who are responsible for the education of the youth of America. I'd say, at the very least they deserve some compensation for their work.
No comments:
Post a Comment