NEA presses for adjunct faculty rights

Tag adjunct faculty, Florida, higher education

by Mary Ellen Flannery

Consider a few facts about adjunct faculty in America. They account for 75 percent of all faculty members, according to a 2009 U.S. Department of Education survey. And they likely earn $19,200 a year (with a master’s degree) and a scant $22,400 after earning a doctoral.

“Think about what it’s like to make it in that world,” urged Tom Auxter, president of the United Faculty of Florida, to his colleagues at NEA’s Representative Assembly (RA). “The employee rights of contingent faculty compare to the employee rights of employees at Walmart.”

To be contingent means you’re working on a temporary basis. Often, you can’t count on a job until days before the semester begins. About all you can rely on is poor pay, zero health and retirement benefits, and the lack of a more secure job offer at the end of the year.

“Just think about what it would be like if (a majority) of teachers ended up as contingent teachers,” Auxter proposed.

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