A Case Study of Threats Against a University-Based Labor Education Program: A Personal Remembrance

University- and college-based labor education programs historically have had a precarious existence. In the early and mid-twentieth century, suspicion by American Federation of Labor leaders and indifference from higher education institutions were the main threats to health and stability. By the 1980s, these dangers lessened considerably, but new menaces emerged. This article relates a personal history wherein the author experienced a series of assaults on his university-based labor education program with the author frequently being at the center of the controversy. The case is analyzed in the context of corporatization of the university and political and labor-related trends.