California colleges see surge in efforts to unionize adjunct faculty
“A living wage is really crucial,” she said. “It’s no surprise that the SEIU is simultaneously organizing McDonald’s workers and part-time college teachers.” Beyond any improvements in pay and more predictability in knowing whether teaching jobs will last beyond the academic year, she said a union contract would force schools to be more transparent about their budgets… The number of part-time faculty members teaching undergraduate courses has triggered controversy, particularly as families face higher tuition costs. California Gov. Jerry Brown has called for tenured professors to teach more courses. The part-timers’ median pay per course at all two-year and four-year schools in 2010 was just $2,700, the coalition survey found.
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by Larry Gordon, The Los Angeles Times.