Northeastern University is, in theory, a progressive university. One of its mission statements is, “To create and translate knowledge to meet global and societal needs.” It’s a noble purpose: teaching students to address problems in their communities. But how can the university aspire to such a lofty goal when the Northeastern administration continually ignores the needs of its own workers?

The treatment of security workers and adjunct professors on campus is unjustifiable. Neither earn healthcare, maternity leave or a living wage. Both are fired at the end of the spring semester and then rehired at the start of fall semester. Adjunct professors are often told the classes they will be teaching days before the start of the semester. Until very recently, security workers were locked out of their booths by managers during cold winter nights. This maltreatment erodes our community, alienates workers and is a detriment to everyone working and studying at our university.

Given that the treatment of university workers is done in the name of “cost cutting,” you might expect top university administrators to also take pay cuts. But they haven’t. The top executives of the university receive hundreds of thousands of dollars from our constantly growing tuition. Seven administrators make over a half million a year, while President Aoun reaps over three million dollars a year in wages and benefits, making him the second highest paid private university president in the United States. If budget cuts need to be made, administrators should first look in the mirror.

The treatment of workers on campus affects us all. When adjuncts aren’t given time to prepare a syllabus, it harms student learning. When security officers feel ill but can’t take a day off because they aren’t given paid sick days, it harms community safety. Workers and students are on the same team. The Northeastern community must stand together against the degradation of our working and learning conditions.

Most importantly, the treatment of workers at Northeastern is immoral. In the Northeastern mission statement, we are urged to demonstrate, “unwavering commitment to exhibiting respect for one another.” The administration of Northeastern has utterly failed to live up to this principle. When workers are forced to come in sick or lose their pay, when mothers aren’t given leave to have a child, when pay is so dismal that workers can barely support themselves, let alone a family, it is clear that the idea of unwavering respect is not a principle upheld by Northeastern’s administration. The way that Northeastern treats its workers is unfair, unsustainable and beneath the stature of a university that strives to be a model for society. We all deserve better.

In Solidarity,

Progressive Student Alliance

– Sara Sheridan is a sophomore political science and international affairs major. 

Photo courtesy Creative Commons.