Dive Summary:
- Faculty and union experts from around the country discussed a plan for Washington, D.C. adjunct to unionize on a metropolitan level Saturday during a conference at the offices of Service Employees International Union Local 500, which represents adjuncts at three institutions in the region.
- The union's plan--which it calls a strategic market solution to the "market problem" of too many adjuncts competing for the same jobs--includes a citywide contract offered through a central employer with a central hiring database and a push for full-time faculty equivalent compensation and working conditions.
- Union data shows that adjuncts outnumber full-time faculty at institutions in the District of Columbia 3,124 to 2,946, and SEIU Local 500 executive director David Rodich says if the city's adjunct union model succeeds, it could be adapted to different areas nationwide.
From the article:
Key aspects of the union’s plan include a citywide contract for adjuncts offered through a central employer with a central hiring database; a push for compensation and working conditions that are equivalent to those of full-time faculty; job security; portability of benefits between institutions; and an academic worker’s center where adjuncts can meet with students and prepare for classes. ...