Earlier today, Jennifer Cost, English Department Chair at San Diego Mesa College issued the following statement of support of National Adjunct Walkout Day actions across the nation but especially at Mesa. It is important to publicly note that adjuncts have allies and that this support is increasing as awareness of the human cost of adjunctification increases.

The statement:

Dear Adjunct Colleagues:

On this day of national action, I’d like to voice my admiration and support of our hard working adjunct colleagues, most working full time at a variety of different places, under a variety of different conditions. In our English department, we have 94 adjunct professors who teach 229 of our English classes.

I know I speak on behalf of our English Department at Mesa, and the Chairs here at Mesa when I say we support you and salute your advocacy for our collective fight for equity.

In Unity,

Jennifer Cost
Chair, English Department
Chair, Committee of Chairs
San Diego Mesa College

Thanks, Jennifer!

Good Adjuncts,

Look these rallies today, and when and where they are located:

Community Colleges

12:00-1:00 at City College in Gorton Quad

12:00-1:00 at Mesa College outside the LRC

12:00-1:00 at Palomar College

12:30-1:30 at Southwestern College on the Mayan Theater Patio

2:00-3:00 at Grossmont College outside the LTRC

4:00-6:15 there will be an Adjunct Appreciation Party at Miramar College in room K-107.    Pizza and refreshments will be served.

Four-Year Institutions

11:30 UCSD will have a student walkout, followed by a teach-in round table discussion from

12:30 at the Yosemite Room

Act up!

Geoff Johnson

A Good adjunct

The San Diego Mesa College Academic Senate voted to  pass a resolution asking Governor Jerry Brown to fully fund budgetary items to increase adjunct pay and provide more full-time positions.

In addition, the resolution calls for “[l]eaders and decision-makers on local, state, and national levels address the working conditions of our temporary faculty in order to greatly reduce the practice of adjunctification, or the hiring of part-time instructors in place of full-time contract faculty. This can has been kicked down the road for too many years. It’s time for action!”

The Mesa Senate is right: it’s time for action!

Good Adjuncts:

We are 24 hours away from the largest labor action in Adjunct history, and we need to act up.

This past weekend, I went to a statewide teacher’s union conference.  Knowing that many of the adjunct reps in the union, especially the statewide reps, were highly supportive of efforts of adjuncts to improve their own lot,  I went to the conference with the positive hopes that I would be networking on actions that we going to happen, and I expected some discussion of the matter by the state leadership.

Instead, in the words of George Castanza, I got nothing.

On the part-time literature table, I saw nothing but the same generic union crap that always gets passed out, except that this time there wasn’t even anything about equity.  It was in fact worse than when I went to the conference in the Fall.  One of the people there, a person who was in fact organizing an NAWD march on Sacramento, didn’t even have stickers to promote his event.  I had to give him stickers.

Later, in a special session on part-time organizing, the organizers deftly managed through their presentation to talk about everything but Feb. 25th.

I, being the kind of guy I am (and if you haven’t that figured out, you’ve never read me before) made it clear they were not dealing with the issue.

To my comments, I was told the idea of NAWD was broached, but that the leadership was afraid that it would cost workers their jobs, and so they did nothing.

Well yes, if people just up and walked off the job, that would be a fear, but why didn’t any of these brainiacs think of calling it simply a “Day of Action”, and organize rallies or symbolic “walkouts”?

The complete lack of creativity here is astounding.

Just so you know, six of the eight major community college campuses in San Diego County are having rallies.

And why, when others do nothing?  Because we’ve thought it out, formed links with student governments, academic senates, full-time faculty, governing board members, and even administration.

…And because, those of us who refuse to live in fear must act because others quite apparently do, and unless we act, they will continue to do so.

By the way, as I and my comrade in arms, John Hoskins, have shown in the action items, there’s a lot you can do without baiting the bear, if you really think the bear’s going to eat you.  Do the following if at all possible:

1)  Wear stickers which identify you as an adjunct, and make it clear that you’re essential.

2) Get students to wear stickers.

3) Get your full-time faculty, administrators, and governing board colleagues to wear stickers in support (I have gotten more help from these groups than even from my own adjuncts to see this event happen).

4)  Send letters to your governor, board members, and state legislators calling for specific changes, like paid office hours, equity pay, more full-time positions, etc.

5) Show up at rallies.  If you’re afraid to be at a rally at your own campus, go to another campus’s rally.

And stop being afraid!

Geoff Johnson

A “Good” adjunct who refuses to live in fear.

In a great, new article for the San Diego Free Press, Jim Miller, tenured English professor at San Diego City College, and Ian Duckles, adjunct philosophy professor everywhere, provide great historical context for NAWD.  Jim rightly observes that what has been happening to labor in academe has been happening to the workforce in America in general. This is the age of the precarious worker who lacks the financial means to resist the onslaught of policies that make income inequality the status quo. It is time to empower the precarious; in academe, this is the “exploited army of highly educated  part-time teachers” typically called adjuncts. Nationally, the adjunct army is rising to resist adjunctification. Tenured faculty, students, all precarious workers  and those who care about social justice are coming to their side. Truly, we’re all in this together.

❝I Am Somebody❞ an #adjunct poem for #NAWD
…inspired by Jesse Jackson’s rendition of “I Am – Somebody” written in the 1950s by Reverend William Holmes Borders, Sr., senior pastor at Wheat Street Baptist Church and civil rights activist in Atlanta, GA.

 
I May be an Adjunct! I May be on Welfare!

I am Somebody.

I can’t afford suits so I pick them up at the Salvation Army,

My clothes are different

I Am Somebody!

I speak a different language, but I must be respected, protected, never rejected!

I may owe hundreds of thousands of dollars to the banks because I was educated

To teach a very detailed and important discipline

I am Somebody!

I may every day worry about students carrying guns into the hall,

I Am Somebody!

I may need a way to stay warm this month because I can’t pay my heating bill

I Am Somebody!

I may have no pension, no money in the bank, no credit rating

I am Somebody.

I may have no health insurance because I don’t get enough classes assigned to pay for it,

I am Somebody

My degrees are sitting on my wall staring back at me

I am Somebody!

I may love teaching period, and spend hours writing my thoughts and deleting them later.

I am Somebody!

I have a child or children who needs me to be strong

I am Somebody

I have to stand in line and get turned down for food stamps with them in my arms.

I am Somebody.

I may get my credit card turned down for gas on the way back from my teaching job

I am Somebody.

I must be respected, protected, never rejected.

I May Be an Adjunct

But I am Somebody.

Lydia Snow
Feb 23, 2015 10:40 am

Good Adjuncts:

Having a rally and making noise is good, turning it into action is better.  In California currently many activists are engaged in getting the Governor to address adjunctification by categorically dedicating:

30 Million dollars to adjunct office hours

50 million dollars to equity pay

100 million dollars to more full-time positions

In addition, there is proposed legislation being considered regarding the creation of three-year contracts for adjuncts.

Anyway, below please notice series of sample letters you might send to Governor Brown.  Copy and paste one into a word file, sign it and send it to one of the addresses given below:

Governor Jerry Brown

c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173

Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Governor Brown:

As you may or may not know, part-time, temporary instructors teach approximately 70% of the courses at community colleges. In many districts these individuals are paid far less than their full-time counterparts even though they have exactly the same credentials and teach exactly the same courses.

As a result, many of these part-timers are forced to take on multiple jobs and work in multiple districts in order to make ends meet. Furthermore, very few districts compensate adjunct faculty for office hours and those that do often compensate at a very low rate (in some cases barely more than the minimum wage).

Given that there is a clear benefit to students from faculty who are decently compensated, and given that students benefit greatly from access to faculty during office hours I would encourage you to increase funding in the state budget in order to correct these deficiencies.

Specifically, I am asking that you allocate additional funds for the categorical line items that currently exist for parity/equity compensation and paid office hours for part-time temporary faculty in the California Community College system in the amount of $30 million for paid office hours, and $50 million for parity/equity compensation. In addition, I ask you to also allocate $100 million for the conversion of existing part-time temporary faculty to full-time faculty status.

Sincerely,

­____________________________

(sign)

____________________________

(print)

____________________________

(date)

Here’s Another:

Governor Jerry Brown

c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173

Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Governor Brown:

As a part-time faculty member teaching in a California community college, I am writing to ask your support in improving the quality of higher education in our state by bettering the working conditions experienced by part-time instructors who teach 70 – 80% of all college classes today. Although part-time faculty are highly trained professionals who hold the same qualifications and deliver the same instructional services as our full-time counterparts, we receive only 50 – 60% of the financial compensation earned by full-time faculty on a per class basis.  We find this inherently unfair – to our students, to our institutions, to the taxpayers at large, and to ourselves.

Over the last six years, the number of students either earning a two-year degree at a California community college, or transferring to a four-year institution, has fallen by 2.6%. Studies at the Cornell Higher Education Research Institute show this is a direct result of the inequalities that currently exist between part-time and full-time instructors. Because part-time faculty receive lower pay and few if any benefits, many of us are compelled to take on teaching loads which exceed those of our full-time colleagues. We work at multiple institutions of higher learning, which reduces our availability to students as well as the time we can devote to providing vital feedback on student work and to preparing for classroom instruction. This negatively impacts student retention and graduation rates.

Our institutions of higher learning and the taxpayers at large are adversely impacted as well. Many of us live under financial duress. Some of us, after years or decades of dedicated service to the profession we love, find the hardship too great, and leave teaching altogether.  Our students and our institutions feel such losses keenly, as do we ourselves. Those of us who persist in our educational calling are often compelled to draw regularly on state unemployment or food stamps in an effort to survive between, and even during, semesters.  News media have also reported dramatic – but telltale – stories of tragic homelessness for some part-time educators. We do not wish to rely upon social services to make ends meet, but part-time/full-time inequality has created a paradoxical situation in which some of our society’s most highly educated and productive citizens come, by necessity, to rely upon welfare programs paid for by taxpayers.

Specifically, I am asking that you allocate additional funds for the categorical line items that currently exist for parity/equity compensation and paid office hours for part-time temporary faculty in the California Community College system in the amount of $30 million for paid office hours, and $50 million for parity/equity compensation. In addition, I ask you to also allocate $100 million for the conversion of existing part-time temporary faculty to full-time faculty status. Help us to create fair and equitable working conditions that will benefit our students, our institutions, and our taxpayers by building today the basis for an educated tomorrow.

Sincerely,

­____________________________

(sign)

____________________________

(print)

____________________________

(date)

Governor Jerry Brown

c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173

Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Governor Brown:

Let me begin by acknowledging that, given your recent budget proposal, it is clear that you value the California Community College System, and recognize its importance for the citizens and the future of our great state. That being said, I am writing to ask you to more clearly set aside some of the money in your proposed budget specifically for adjunct issues. As I hope you are aware, adjuncts make significantly less than their full-time counterparts despite teaching the same courses with the same credentials and the same level of experience. Furthermore, these part-time professors must work multiple jobs at multiple districts to make ends meet. This all too often comes at the expense of students because their professors simply don’t have enough time in the day to give these students the time they need in order to be successful. The only way to address this problem is to reduce the number of adjuncts and improve the working conditions of those that remain.

While I understand that you prefer to leave a great deal of control over budgeting to local districts, the simple fact is that this kind of attitude has only made the situation worse. In those districts with strong unions, various protections have been established for adjuncts, but these tend to be the exception rather than the rule. If we want our students to succeed, if we want to retain them and ensure their ability to graduate or transfer and succeed at four years colleges, we must do more to improve the lives of the adjunct instructors who are increasingly the backbone of the community college system.

Consequently, I am asking you not to increase your already generous budget for the community colleges, but instead to take some of the money out of the budget an earmark it for adjunct concerns. Specifically, I am asking that you allocate additional funds for the categorical line items that currently exist for parity/equity compensation and paid office hours for part-time temporary faculty in the California Community College system in the amount of $30 million for paid office hours, and $50 million for parity/equity compensation. In addition, I ask you to also allocate $100 million for the conversion of existing part-time temporary faculty to full-time faculty status.

Sincerely,

­____________________________

(sign)

____________________________

(print)

____________________________

(date)

Addresses for National Adjunct Action Day Lobbying Campaign All letter should be addressed to the Governor and then CC the other people on the list.

Governor Jerry Brown State Capitol, Suit 1173 Sacramento, CA 95814

Speaker of the Assembly Toni Atkins P.O. Box 942849 Sacramento, CA 94249-0078

Senate President Pro Temp Kevin De León

State Capitol, Room 205

Sacramento, CA 95814

Senate Education Budget Subcommittee Chair Marty Block

State Capitol, Room 4072 Sacramento, CA 95814

Assembly Education Finance Budget Subcommittee Chair Kevin McCarty

P.O. Box 942849, Room 2160

Sacramento, CA 94249-0007

Department of Finance Director Michael Cohen

915 L Street

Sacramento, CA 95814

Department of Finance Program Budget Director Nick Schweizer

915 L Street

Sacramento, CA 95814

Community College Chancellor Brice Harris

1102 Q Street, Suite 4554

Sacramento, CA 95811

Now start writing and sending those letters good Adjuncts!

Geoff Johnson

A Good Adjunct

The Mesa Press continues its coverage of the crisis of adjunctification in this article by Linda Nguyen: “Adjunct professors plan day of action.”

The Adjunct Revolution is taking place!

Here are a couple of videos to show your students this week. Students, who are being set up for a precariat life, are our natural allies. Let’s tell the the truth. Here’a  a documentary in the works that looks real:

Freeway Fliers

There is ongoing work from The Homeless Adjunct: ‘Junct: The Trashing of Higher Ed. in America

And, here is an excellent NAWD video from Ohio.

Show these to your students!