Temple University and the Attack on Higher Education

Wonder why so many teachers are adjuncts?  Ever stop to consider that the attack on tenure and academia by the rightwing corporatists is part of a plan to reshape American higher education back into their image? 

How many of us are even aware that there are mass firings occurring at Temple University?

There has been precious little media coverage -- that is one of the most insulting aspects to these attacks on higher education.  Temple  University seems to have the ability to limit the coverage which means that this important story is not being reported outside of the Philadelphia area.  You can read the AFSCME statement here.

It has been clear for some time that Temple's Board and Administration have the goal of busting the unions and creating a kind of proletariat of the faculty -- and let us make no mistakes about this -- the mass firing of the secretaries (who actually run departments) is not the end but rather a first step towards a sweep of tenured faculty as well.  

This becomes especially true since both groups have been working without a contract.  If Temple can claim economic issues in the firing of the secretaries as a test to see if they can successfully reshape the university, then they will almost surely do the same with the faculty.  

It is a perfect way to rid themselves of more of the tenured professors, especially the critical and thinking ones and then replace them with still more low-paid contingents who get no benefits and no job security.  

The university is now going full tilt with the help of very expensive anti-union legal help.  This is really part of a much bigger problem:  the nation-wide labor abuse and overuse of contingent faculty to create profit generating corporatized universities. Education be damned.

Many faculty are trying to leave academia and find related full-time work elsewhere because they simply can not survive economically. The majority of these contingent teachers are  only able to cobble together several university part-time hires or outside freelance work as tutors/editors/writers/publicists.  

We are looking at  the possibility of an entire generation of American scholars who have been forced into poverty while trying to stay in the work they prepared for.  The poor treatment of faculty and staff have become so blatant that this is becoming university-level labor abuse.  

What can we do?

Raising awareness is the first step!  Some of these hard working adjuncts who are trying to change this sad state of affairs have begun an organization called 'Junct Rebellion (www.junctrebellion.com).  

They are trying to combat all this.  We should join them.