New Issue of the Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy, Part 2

The most recent issue of the Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy is available at http://thekeep.eiu.edu/jc. The issue includes two op-eds and four articles. Here are excerpts from the second through fourth articles: Hicks, Steve (2014) “Post-Recession CBAs: A Study of Wage Increases in the Agreements of Four State-wide Faculty Unions,” Journal of Collective…

Sometimes the Economic Equations Are Simple: Declining Union Membership = Lower Wages = Higher Corporate Profits = Higher CEO Pay: Part 1

Declining Union Membership “Over the last three decades, U.S. labor union membership has fallen by nearly half, even though more Americans are actually in favor of unionization. “Some 11% of all wage and salary workers in 2014 were in a union — down from 22% in 1983 after peaking at nearly 35% in 1954, according…

Sometimes the Economic Equations Are Simple: Declining Union Membership = Lower Wages = Higher Corporate Profits = Higher CEO Pay: Part 2

Workers’ Pay Is Still Higher in Pro-Labor States “Under federal law, no one can be forced to join a union as a condition of employment, and the Supreme Court has made clear that workers cannot be forced to pay dues used for political purposes. So-called right-to-work (RTW) legislation goes one step further and entitles employees to the…

Sometimes the Economic Equations Are Simple: Declining Union Membership = Lower Wages = Higher Corporate Profits = Higher CEO Pay: Part 3

Record Corporate Profit Margins “One item that hasn’t gotten much attention lately is corporate profit margins, which are near record highs. Since the financial crisis, companies have been cutting operating costs, trimming debt, and increasing exposure overseas — all actions that have boosted margins. But as the bull market and economic recovery have aged, we have heard…

Sometimes the Economic Equations Are Simple: Declining Union Membership = Lower Wages = Higher Corporate Profits = Higher CEO Pay: Part 4

Soaring CEO Compensation “America’s corporate leaders have recovered nicely since the recession. The average worker? Not so much. “The annual pay for CEOs soared 12.1% last year, the fastest increase since 2010 and up from a median increase of just 1.6% in 2013, according to an analysis by professional services firm Towers Watson & Co.…

Academic Freedom and Tenure: The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The following is excerpted from the main AAUP website.  Please go there to see the report in its entirety: I. Introduction In the middle of summer 2014, Dr. Steven Salaita, associate professor of English at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, having resigned his tenured position, was preparing to relocate to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he had more…

College Minority Recruiting

As the first numbers on the composition of incoming freshman classes trickle in next month, many colleges and universities take substantial credit for increasing their pool of minority enrollment. They link their claim to ambitious and noble goals usually expressed as a pillar of the college’s strategic plan. The higher education community is right to…

Higher Ed’s Version of the Revolving Door

One often hears complaints that legislators, especially at the federal level, court donations from powerful interests, introduce and seek to advance legislation that serves those interests, and then, when they leave office, continue to promote those interests as paid lobbyists. Although the monies involved might be somewhat smaller, depending on the state, the same thing…