It was just one week ago that the Lantern printed an editorial criticizing Ohio State for neglecting the needs and demands of the OSU union, Communications Workers of America Local 4501. The union, which consists of around 2,000 OSU service and trade workers, including janitors, bus drivers and electricians, is on the verge of a strike because workers have been underpaid and ignored by the university for a long time.Well, it was found this weekend that OSU’s service and trade workers are not the only university employees not being paid what they are worth. According to an annual salary report given to the Board of Trustees this weekend by the Faculty Compensation and Benefits Committee, OSU faculty have witnessed a decline in overall salaries compared with other universities in recent years.In comparison to what our administration likes to refer to as the “ten benchmark institutions,” universities with similar structures to this school, OSU ranks seventh in faculty salaries, which are 2.5 percent below overall average salary for these benchmark institutions.Even more disturbing, salary comparisons with the Association of American Universities show OSU ranking 40th in overall faculty salaries among the association’s 62 institutions.Meanwhile, for those of you who don’t know, the pockets of OSU’s president and high administrators continue to get fatter and fatter.What is wrong with this university? OSU continues its increasingly common trend of spending money like it’s water, but can’t even pay its faculty the money they deserve. OSU administration continues to stress the importance of acquiring and retaining quality faculty. But how can this be done if the university won’t even pay them what they are worth? If OSU does not do something quickly to keep it’s employees, many will likely move on. The quality of education at this university will drop significantly, and the education of students will suffer. This university wants to be considered among the nation’s best. Thus, it is obligated to treat its employees fairly and pay them at least what they would be earning working for other comparable institutions. To not do so will harm not only the university, but the student body as well.