According to recent rumblings from the New York State capital, there is a new turn in the nationwide battle over compensation for university educators. As mentioned in the latest article by the staff of the Troy Record, “College of Saint Rose adjunct professors seek to form union“, part-time adjunct professors in New York and elsewhere are pushing change. By moving forward with a full push to unionize they are splitting themselves off from traditional teachers unions that they see as not doing enough for adjuncts. As it stands now, several hundred adjuncts will be voting by mail in September on the unionization plans with the assistance of the National Labor Relations Board.

DC Connection to Adjuncts Forming Union

The SEIU Local 200 United has created Adjunct Action as a way to support the adjunct cause and Democracy Chronicles has several writers deeply involved with both organizations. Among others, Ana Maria Fores Tamayo has contributed with original articles on Democracy Chronicles in favor of adjunct unions. Fores Tamayo began a petition for Adjunct Justice, now with 8400 signatures, which grew into a Facebook forum for adjuncts to connect and organize. She is trying to raise awareness of adjunct and contingent faculty and is dedicated to advancing their professional equity. She also has written various articles concerning the adjunct’s plight, including a Letter to the Pope, which has been published in various places across the Internet.

According to the Troy Record, “nearly 180 adjunct professors at The College of Saint Rose in Albany filed a request last month for an election from the National Labor Relations Board to form their union with Adjunct Action, a project of Service Employees International Union.”An English professor at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, Jennifer Austin said, “adjuncts now make up the majority of the professors at Saint Rose, and with tenure-track positions dwindling, we need to unionize so that adjuncts can earn a living wage, have access to health benefits and garner job security”.

Adjuncts are optimistic about their chances but teacher unions that have represented adjunct faculty in the past are naturally opposed to separate unions for adjuncts, a prospect that would likely reduce their membership. “It is our hope that the administration will remain neutral during our election and allow adjuncts to engage in a democratic dialogue that is crucial to the strength of the college community,” Austin said.

Saint Rose Adjuncts Forming Union Find Many Obstacles

Politicians nationwide are split on the issue but adjuncts have gained some notable local and state level support. According to the Troy Record, “Several members of Albany-area city, county and state elected officials are supporting the adjunct efforts, including Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, 14 members of the Albany Common Council, Albany County Executive Dan McCoy, 24 members of the Albany County Legislature, State Sen. Neil Breslin and Assemblywoman Pat Fahy, all of whom have called on The College of Saint Rose administration to remain neutral and allow for a free and fair election without interference.”

The giant and historically significant Service Employees International Union, with 2.1 million members in North America, has been a central supporter of the new unions and carries huge weight as the largest and fastest-growing union in the Americas. According to Brian Nearing of the Albany Times Union, “the SEIU has been trying to organize adjuncts at colleges elsewhere; this year, adjuncts at Northeastern University in Boston, Howard University in Washington, D.C.,and Antioch University in Seattle voted to join the union. Adjuncts at St. Thomas University in Minnesota and Bentley University outside Boston voted against unionization.”

The Albany region is also an important target for the SEIU. According to Nearing, “in New York State, SEIU is trying to organize adjuncts at Marist College in Poughkeepsie”. With 3,700 members as of this article, the SEIU Local 200 United union serves 15,000 public & private sector workers in New York State. Their Adjunct Action campaign has been very successful in building support for their cause. According to their about us:

“Adjunct Action is a campaign that unites adjunct professors at campuses across the country to address the crisis in higher education and the troubling trend toward a marginalized teaching faculty that endangers our profession. At most colleges and universities, adjuncts are a majority of all teaching faculty yet we still face low levels of compensation, no benefits, lack of institutional support for research and scholarship, and exclu­sion from the governance of our institutions. At the same time, our institutions have shifted resources from instruction to administration, funded by quickly rising tuition, resulting in record levels of student debt.

By coming together in Adjunct Action, we have the power to do something about this by building a market-wide movement to raise standards for faculty and students alike. Adjunct Action is a project of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the nation’s largest and fastest growing union and home to over 21,000 unionized adjuncts who have won improvements in pay, job security, evaluation processes, and access to retirement benefits.”

Many activists like those of Adjunct Action have worked as adjunct professors and have decided to speak out. Don’t forget to sign the petition for Adjunct Justice to support the cause of adjunct professors nationwide! Please leave your comments below and also keep posted to DC for the latest on education, an essential ingredient for a society capable of governing itself!