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Labor Struggle in Higher Ed: An Update from Loyola University Chicago SEIU 73 Faculty Forward Union

Apr 15
Episode 1898: Labor Struggle in Higher Ed: An Update from Loyola University Chicago SEIU 73 Faculty Forward Union
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There's a lot of attention being paid to the Trump administration's attacks on higher ed, but the “leadership” of higher ed—the presidents, the boards of trustees—have been hollowing out higher ed for decades by following a neoliberal low road model. All the people on the board of trustees, not just here at Loyola, but at most colleges and universities, are not educators. They don't know anything about how education, or research for that matter. There are businesspeople. Once upon a time that made sense because their job was to raise money. But now with the rise of, “we need to run everything like a business,” they have imposed not just a business model on the school, but the McDonald's business model—the low road business model of “don't invest in people, hyper exploit them.”

Members of the leadership team of the SEIU 73 Faculty Forward Union representing non-tenure-track faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University Chicago update us on their 14-month-old fight for a fair contract. NTT faculty Matt Williams, Paige Warren, Sarita Heer, and Deb Goodman discuss the precarity and exploitation facing faculty at Loyola and on campuses across the United States and the union's efforts to bargain collectively at a corporatized university. We will follow up with them next Tuesday after strike authorization votes have been tallied.

"The Moment of Truth" with Jeff Dorchen follows the interview.

You can follow their struggle at the SEIU 73 website and in the Loyola Phoenix's ongoing coverage.

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Deborah Goodman Matthew Williams Paige Warren Sarita Heer

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Deborah goodman
Guest

Deborah Goodman

Deborah Goodman is a Lecturer in Dance at Loyola University Chicago. She is also Secretary Emeritus of the SEIU 73 Faculty Forward Union at Loyola.

 

Matt
Guest

Matthew Williams

Matthew Williams is Advanced Lecturer in Sociology at Loyola University Chicago. He is also Co-Chair of the SEIU 73 Faculty Forward Union at Loyola.

 

Alyson paige warren luc id pic
Guest

Paige Warren

Paige Warren is an Instructor in the Department of English at Loyola University Chicago. She is also Co-Chair of the SEIU 73 Faculty Forward Union at Loyola.

 

Sarita k heer hs 2025
Guest

Sarita Heer

Sarita Heer is Advanced Lecturer of Fine Arts in Art History at Loyola University Chicago. She is also Chief Steward of the SEIU 73 Faculty Forward Union at Loyola.