Editor,
I was saddened by your recent front-page story regarding the Pepsi vending deal and the consequential loss of UNM vending services jobs and some valued hard working folks. I have to agree with Terry Mulcahy in his letter to the editor on July 3 when he wonders “what UNM’s priorities are.” When we espouse that UNM values employees, and that we are proud of “Great People Doing Great Things,” I, too, had assumed that we meant UNM people, not the Pepsi corporation. I have been disheartened whenever I’ve seen this trend in other areas of UNM as well as in other universities around the country.
On a positive note, there is an increasing movement afoot within some enlightened universities to take a cautious stance when it comes to accepting corporate bed-partners. We’re seeing students, faculty and staff becoming more conscious of the tradeoffs (in values, principles, employee loyalty and ethics) involved when profit-making corporations attempt to infiltrate public-serving institutions of higher learning.
Ideological considerations aside, we unfortunately live in a world with too many Enrons and MCI-WorldComs, to name just a few. This might be a good time to say “No thanks!” to their self-interested offerings. Even more, this might be a great time to walk our talk and make valuing our wonderful employees a top priority.
No organization can survive without a loyal workforce. A loyal workforce is the outcome of institutional trustworthiness. Keeping our “Great People” builds trust.
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Don Shapiro
UNM staff
