The Big Old Machine

I just got off the phone with the director of Human Resources. She feels that my article about higher education’s use of limited term employees (LTEs) in long term positions, for low wages and few benefits, is extremely negative and would have a detrimental effect on LTEs. In fact, she said she “panicked” when she read it. The final article is much different than my earlier post, and has not yet been published anywhere. At this point I don’t know if it will be…

In reflecting on my past ten years of work experience, I now view corporate software development as an animal, like a sleek, fast leopard, or a fox—small, yet cunning, sly, and powerful. In the end, looking out ultimately for itself. This is why I left. I thought higher education would be different. I thought I would be happier. And as long as I was ignorant about the inner workings, I was. After five years, I now see higher education as a big, old, archaic machine, professing to teach the values of liberal education and to promote equity and diversity, yet clinging to ancient philosophies about employment, which result in keeping those who have the fewest rights silent and in their places. Perhaps I will be proven wrong. My article has the support of several committees and is being circulated to the higher ups…

Hopefully I will not get laid off tomorrow…

I do not intend for this article to harm anyone; however, I do feel that this is a serious social equity issue that needs to be better understood in our academic community, and perhaps even by a general audience.

Here are some things the HR director said, and which reflect a common attitude among management: people take these jobs knowing what they’re getting in to, this is the system we’re stuck with, these people sign statements of their limited rights when they start working here…ok, all of which might be fine, if you were truly using LTEs to do short term work, like seasonal or special projects. But when you’re using them to do the same work that permanent state employees do, work that is not limited term, denying them equal wages and benefits IS A PROBLEM.

The whole experience of writing this article—the fear and reluctance of many schools to even talk about this issue—is destroying any remaining belief I have in this institution actually practicing and promoting the liberal education values it professes to teach.

A few hours after my conversation with the HR director I realized why I was so surprised. I wasn’t expecting a positive reaction. But I was expecting corrections. Like you got this number wrong or this fact is not actually true. But there were no corrections. Just her vague, high level statements attempting to instill fear.

I was educated by this institution…two degrees and many thousands of dollars. More and more, the words of a wise friend come to mind: “You cannot educate people to be free thinkers and then penalize them when they question the system.”