>Seems its evil for the non-unionized to make money in education
College professors are tenured, not unionized. And considering that most schools hire adjunct professors and slash benefits to the bone, it's hard to argue that teachers are bleeding the system dry.
On the other hand, the school where I just got my Master's from just built a brand new 177,000 square foot rec center, complete with 3 story climbing wall. And we've proudly paid good money to bring the guy/girl who invented Zumba to teach a few Zumba sessions. On top of this, programs that bring recognition to "joe consumer" (college football, basketball, etc) want for not.
Also, much of PBS is not unionized. It's kind of hard to unionize organizations that rely on member donations to keep afloat.
Sort of OT but I remember getting letters from AAUP when they were involved in negotiations for certain benefits for Lecturers, Part time Lecturers (TAs were considered to be part time lecturers because of some statute IIRC) when I TAed at Rutgers..
Many college professors are unionized - see the California Faculty Association for an example. The parent probably went to a school where they were.
At least in America they rarely go on strike. My undergrad institution in suburban Toronto was infamous for strike-related class cancellations.
I'm in complete agreement with your point about non-academic expenditures, though. There's a large 'four-year party' market out there, and the fight for those students' tuition dollars has led to an arms race in campus luxury spending.
College professors are tenured, not unionized. And considering that most schools hire adjunct professors and slash benefits to the bone, it's hard to argue that teachers are bleeding the system dry.
On the other hand, the school where I just got my Master's from just built a brand new 177,000 square foot rec center, complete with 3 story climbing wall. And we've proudly paid good money to bring the guy/girl who invented Zumba to teach a few Zumba sessions. On top of this, programs that bring recognition to "joe consumer" (college football, basketball, etc) want for not.
Also, much of PBS is not unionized. It's kind of hard to unionize organizations that rely on member donations to keep afloat.