Glimpses of the Anti-Sweatshop Movement

implement policies at their schools that came out of the for-profit world (Rhoades arid

Slaughter 1997; Slaughter and Rhoades 2004).

ft should be emphasized that corporatization is an uneven process, the depth of which varies considerably from school to school, some having become more deeply committed to it, while others retain more of an affinity for older ideals of academic autonomy and the pursuit of knowledge for the common good. Even in schools that are

deeply corporatized, many members of the faculty may still adhere to older ideas,

resisting the new imperatives the administration tries io impose of them. Administrators themselves may often try to reconcile the two contraadictory ideals (Slaughter and Rhoades 2004).

The corporatization of higher education is evident in a number of ways. It can be seen in changing patterns of employment of faculty. Administrators on many campuses have made moves to reduce the number of tenure-track positions, instead hiring adjunct instructors, who are little better than academic temps. This follows the increasingly corporate practice of replacing full-time employees with various forms of contingent labor. The use of adjuncts allows administrators to save a great deal of money, since they are paid far less than full-time faculty for the same work and they do not get benefits.

School administrators have also increasingly chosen to outsource such things as janitorial and food services. Again, this follows the practices of the corporate world and is a means of cutting costs. The companies to whom such services are outsourced typically pay lower wages, provide fewer benefits, and engage in union-busting activities. As noted, research universities are increasingly encouraging their faculty members to work in partnership with big business. They also may encourage faculty to create their own start- up business. In both cases, the tie to business is built on the ability of faculty to develop products that can both be patented and turn a profit, a share of which goes to the school. Patents, however, privatize knowledge, contradicting the traditional academic ideal of the pursuit of knowledge for the common good (Slaughter and Rhoades 2004; White 2000).
Perhaps the most significant pan of corporatization for the anti-sweatshop movement is in the procurement contracts that most schools now have with corporations in a wide number of industries. As of 2000, Barnes and Noble operated roughly 350 campus bookstores, often displacing independent bookstores that had run them previously. Food services have long been outsourced; but, while they were once

outsourced to low-profile companies like ARAMark and Soxeho-Marriott, such high- profile brands as Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Starbucks are increasingly taking over the campus. The Coca-Cola and Pepsi soda companies now compete with each other for