United Academics Negotiating a Minimum Wage for Non-Tenure-Track Faculty

Check out the highlights, details, draft, and final agreement of United Academics' new contract with the University of Oregon.  Check me if I'm wrong:  I'm seeing a tentative agreement to establish a floor of $36K for non-tenure-track faculty and a firm agreement to establish a Joint Committee on Equity and Floors that will be "responsible for establishing appropriate salary floors for all bargaining unit Non-Tenure-Track Faculty classifications, ranks, and units" (Article 26, Section 4). 

As UA emphasizes,

One major goal of the CBA is to stabilize and regularize the non-tenure-track faculty positions at the UO and to reduce reliance on adjuncts to those situations that are truly of a temporary and limited duration.  This initial reclassification process is meant to have units examine all their current adjunct positions and reclassify those that should really be Career NTT positions.

We anticipate that over 400 adjunct faculty will be considered for this reclassification to Career NTTF, and many will be reclassified soon.

The administration has been working with unit heads on the initial adjunct reclassification process and held a training workshop on this issue on November 7.  A UA Implementation Committee is also working closely with the administration to ensure this process is conducted in all units in accordance with the intentions of the CBA.

 Stay tuned as their contract implementation continues to unfold!

MLA's Open Access Online Journal Profession Addresses Campus Equity Week Themes!

Somehow I had missed the memo that the Modern Language Association's Profession has become an open-access online journal.  And that in October they published several essays that deal with the very issues of contingency and sustainability that we've been focusing on here at SUNY Fredonia.  I haven't yet had a chance to read what look like very interesting and important essays:

• Michael Berube, "Avenues of Access:  The 2013 Presidential Forum"
• Joshua Boldt, "Free-Market Faculty Members"
• Beth Landers, "Contingent Labor:  National Perspectives, Local Solutions"
• Maria Maisto, "Addressing the Scarlet A:  Adjuncts and the Academy"
• Robert Samuels, "Reinventing Access:  Free Public Higher Education, Quality Instruction, and Job Security for All Faculty Members"

.  But at the pace I'm going with grading and consulting on student final projects this semester, I may be able to respond to them over Thanksgiving Break.  If not, winter break, so stay tuned!

Campus Equity Week in the News, Western NY Edition

Check out Gib Snyder's story in the Dunkirk-Fredonia Observer on the Halloween rally at SUNY Fredonia for Campus Equity Week.  My open letter to Governor Cuomo got picked up by the SUNY Fredonia student newspaper, The Leader, as well.