Wayne State University Part-Time Faculty Bargaining For First Contract

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/7879

By Doug Cunningham

At Detroit’s Wayne State University, 900 part-time adjunct faculty members are in the midst of negotiations on their first collective bargaining contract. Amanda Hiber is a spokesperson for the American Federation of Teachers-affiliated union representing the part-time faculty.

: "Probably the biggest issue is low pay. We also receive no benefits, no insurance, no participation in the retirement program, no sick pay. And we also pretty much have no job security from semester to semester."

Talks are making some progress but key economic issues are still to be resolved. Hiber says there’s more at stake with this first contract, though, than just dollars.

: "Our main goal is to kind of get adjuncts some recognition and respect that we feel that we deserve and that we’ve earned. There are a lot of people here who have taught here for 20 or 30 years, and they’re given no recognition. A lot of times in their departments, their full-timers don’t even know their names."