Rutgers University is refusing to pay some instructors living wages or give its faculty raises that would keep up with inflation — prompting the first-ever strike in the school’s history. At the same time, New Jersey’s state university has continued to plow ever-more funds from its endowment into high-fee investments that are performing poorly.

The Rutgers strike, which began Monday, is over basic issues like wages, job security, and the cost of university-owned housing. Currently nine thousand educators are taking part in the action. New Jersey governor Phil Murphy (D), who appoints members of Rutgers’ Board of Governors, is currently acting as mediator between unions and university management.

The episode underscores the critical role that university endowments are playing in subsidizing the lifestyles of some of the wealthiest people on the planet — at the cost of livable wages for the people who teach students.