There's been recent attention on the adjunct situation at US universities- academics are hired to teach courses without the stability and resources provided to tenure-track professors, and often for 1/3 the income. I'm sure I've complained on here about the under-valued labor of graduate student workers, and I know that several forum members have similar stories.
This recent piece by Sarah Kendzior (she's written extensively on the topic), The Adjunct Crisis is Everyone's Problem, places academic work in terms of labor activism, which seems uncommon for US public discourse. Similar to other professions, the majority of workers are too busy trying to meet their needs and get by to commit toward activism. Even among academics who consider themselves activists, I would expect it is a small percentage who prioritize self-advocacy over issues directly related to their research topics.
I have a lot of thoughts and feelings on the issue, but I want to try to step back on this topic. I am also very interested to hear non-US perspectives on academic labor.
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