To the Editor:
The exploitation of adjunct faculty is not a new topic, but somehow it seldom finds its way onto radio talk shows, segmented news shows, or other arenas of exposure. Making the case for better treatment of part-time/adjunct faculty seems to fall on deaf ears everywhere—especially at the bargaining table.
At Rutgers University, where membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities generates some claim to fame, and the addition of a medical school in New Brunswick makes positive news (if not the looming takeover in the south), we see part-time lecturers (as adjuncts are termed) still being treated like invisible serfs. They can cover a third of the classes for a pittance, teach independent-study courses free, make do without any health benefits whatsoever, and put up with about as much job security as an agency temp. Part-time lecturers deserve salaries that provide a living wage. But that’s not what administrators at negotiations demonstrate.
Part-time lecturers are the only collective-negotiations unit at Rutgers still trying to settle their contract. All other unionized employees—full-time faculty, teaching assistants, Educational Opportunity Fund counselors, postdocs, administrative assistants, technical-clericals, maintenance custodians—have resolved their new agreements. Part-time lecturers, ironically, are left trying to renegotiate their agreement when others settled because they were the only employees unimportant (and low paid) enough not to have had their salaries frozen the past couple of years. Their salaries are so low that it is not uncommon for them to qualify for New Jersey FamilyCare. Their salaries are so low that many, if not most, work at multiple institutions just to survive. That doesn’t get you any closer to health benefits either.
But some would say, “Aren’t these people with advanced degrees, credentials that make them very employable?” Yes and no. Nowadays, advanced degrees in the world of higher education just qualify you for temping. Others might ask, “Aren’t these cushy jobs that some people choose to gain respect and admiration?” Yes and no. Most of the time students don’t know who’s in front of the classroom, so they treat part-time lecturers with respect, but administrators looking to maximize flexibility while keeping costs down see part-time lecturers as interchangeable/disposable parts in an institutional machine, not as part of an educational process. This is very hard for part-time lecturers to handle. Who wants to admit that they’re being paid minimum wage with a Ph.D. in hand? Who cares if some employees are anxious about reappointment every semester? At least they have jobs. Shouldn’t instructors who teach half the courses at a top-rated public institution have a chance to be relatively healthy? Shouldn’t we all?
Rutgers administrators need to set a good example: Show students that an academic profession is worthwhile, show the community that teaching is respectable, and show the country that others can follow your lead in recognizing the important work that part-time lecturers/adjuncts do.
Eleanor LaPointe
President
Part-Time Lecturer Faculty Chapter
Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Rutgers UniversityNew Brunswick, N.J.