Labor Struggle in Higher Ed: An Update from Loyola University Chicago SEIU 73 Faculty Forward Union

This episode of 'This Is Hell!' delivers a powerful examination of the growing labor struggle at Loyola University Chicago, where non-tenured faculty organized under Faculty Forward (SEIU Local 73) are fighting for fair pay, job security, and democratic governance amid a deeply corporatized academic environment. The hosts, Chuck Mertz and Will Ippen, collaborate with union leaders Matt Williams, Sarita Heer, Deb Goodman, and Allison Page Warren to expose how decades of neoliberal reforms have eroded tenure, inflated administrative salaries, and reduced the Jesuit mission to performative branding. The faculty are currently pushing for a strike authorization vote, facing systemic obstacles and an administration that dismisses inflation, academic freedom, and social justice concerns. The episode critiques the commodification of education, where students are treated as 'customers' and faculty as disposable labor, calling for a radical reimagining of university governance rooted in equity and democratic accountability. The conversation shifts to broader cultural reflections, including the ethical dangers of dystopian prediction markets and the decline of institutional values at Loyola since the 1990s, underscored by a listener’s testimony and a satirical 'Question from Hell' segment that blends humor with political critique. The episode concludes with promotional previews for upcoming guests—historians A.J.A. Woods, Quinn Slobodian, and Ben Tarnoff—who will explore conspiracy theories, tech capitalism, and political extremism, alongside live events in Chicago that celebrate artistic protest and community engagement through printmaking and visual art.