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A piece that I wrote for the Arbiter (student newspaper at Boise State University):

Unions on campus fight perceptions and lack of organization

The latest union struggle on campus sidesteps shouting matches with the administration behind closed doors about pay. In fact, BSU unions are in the process of recruiting greater numbers to get the administration’s attention. Bob McCarl, an associate professor of Anthropology and vice president of Social Equity for Idaho Unions, or SEIU, says the main struggle facing organizers is a lack of organization, recruiting, and inaccurate perceptions and expectations by the administration and staff.
“Most perceptions are based on stereotypes of East Coast labor struggles of the 1930s or media hype depicting unions as radicals who simply want to agitate for more money,” McCarl said. “Unfortunately, the long tradition of progressive action by academic unions is ignored.”
Given such tradition, students may be surprised that unionization for faculty and staff is a process that hasn’t occurred. Errol Morris, a professor in the history department belonged to an American Federation of Teachers, or AFT, local years ago, but agrees that the story of unions on campus is an uneventful one, as does library employee Barb Miller. According to McCarl and David Hall, an adjunct Sociology professor, the faculty and staff are slow in organizing and there is little union activity on campus, aside from the current SEIU campaign. Professor Michael Blain, chair of the sociology department, agrees with McCarl that the faculty at Boise State would benefit from unionization.
“There always needs to be another voice,” Blaine said.
McCarl argues that there are six functions unions at Boise State would provide as they do at colleges throughout the world. First, they provide a collective voice for faculty and staff.
“Without a strong organization run by and for employees, the administration of a university is likely to hear only those who have access or power (i.e. other administrators),” McCarl said.
Secondly, a union provides protection for workers; covering areas from the policing of health and pension plan decisions to the filing of individual claims for unfair treatment or harassment. Third, unions offer a collective alternative to decisions driven solely by profit.
“Unions are egalitarian structures that view human rights, equality and community solidarity as being more important than individual celebrity or the amassing of a large personal fortune,” McCarl said.
Fourth, unions are committed to social action with a broad net that includes the fight for a living wage and environmental action. Fifth, unions are increasingly international, linking local human rights and labor concerns to parallel issues around the globe. McCarl’s sixth argument is a situation at many universities where unions actually negotiate contracts that hold both labor and management responsible for the success of the organization without giving management the right to make unilateral or exploitive decisions.
McCarl continues that the basic argument is government (and therefore the government employee) is bad because citizens must pay for it through taxes.
“If we simply get rid of government and the government employee, then the market will take care of itself is the assumption,” McCarl said. “The logical extension of this argument is that universities will no longer need tenure, self governance, academic freedom, or independence, because if they exist, they will exist under the direct control and sponsorship of corporations.”
McCarl cites the Taco Bell “branding” of the university as a case in point. The other dimension to this issue is the rise of contingent and adjunct faculty.
“These programs will hire high salaried individuals who will bring in grants and the students will be taught by adjuncts and graduate students. Who needs full time faculty?” asked McCarl. “Adjuncts and grad students work at a fraction of the cost. They do not require tenure protections, and they do not receive annual contracts with benefits.”
Because faculty unions are scarce, McCarl says, this scenario is being played out around the world.
“A multinational can grow a department or a university that fits its needs,” McCarl said. “Universities cease to be places of public discourse and progressive ideas. They become training centers for certain industries.”
McCarl feels that union recruiting in the academic world is slow and that SEIU, AFT, and other unions need to do a better job in getting their message out to the faculty.
“We have not done well in organizing at BSU and, as a union vice president for SEIU, I have to take the blame for this. We have not had an organized plan for recruiting, although we are doing better than we were a year ago,” McCarl said.
McCarl concludes that public sector unions will increasingly play a role in American life, on and off campus. And though he is well versed and clearly passionate about the subject, he still doesn’t want you to get the wrong idea.
“A final plea: that you talk about unions as more than salary hogs. Unions provide the only challenge to corporate excess while they also reinforce an ethic of community that is sorely missing in our capitalist society,” McCarl said. “Wages are important, but unions also fight for fairness, justice, safety and good health, and sharing in a world increasingly focused only on greed and selfishness.”

Word Count: 823

-IT-

I've been watching:

1. Arrested Development: Season 1
2. Mr. Show with Bob and David: Season 3

I've been listening to:

1. Vince Guaraldi Trio (Charlie Brown Christmas CD)

I've been reading:

1. America (The Book) by John Stewart and "Daily Show" writers
2. Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris