Adjunct union negotiations continue with tension

Members of The Union of Adjunct Faculty at Pace (UAFP), an entity of the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) are currently undergoing negotiations with the Administration regarding pay and benefits. The UAFP has had a strong on-campus presence for years, asking for contractual improvements since 2004. Adjuncts, across the board, are paid much less than full-time faculty; this is the case at many universities, according to John Pawlowski, president of the UAFP.

The UAFP has dealt with opposition for years; more recently, members saw a federal circuit court decision allowing the Union's bargaining unit to expand from 750 members to nearly 1100. This decision was made by the U.S. Court of Appeals, Washington, D.C. Circuit and it affirmed the National Labor Relations Board's original certification of this bargaining unit as well as the inclusion of adjuncts who were not eligible to vote in the 2004 representation election.

According to a January 2008 NYSUT press release, "circuit court affirms Pace University adjunct faculty." The order was later met with an appeal by the University.

The negotiations have moved now to better pay and benefits. Another issue the UAFP will look at includes short-contract tenure for adjuncts to improve job security.

"There has been little movement in three years," Pawlowski said. He explained adjuncts currently have no benefits or health care support from the University. He also said the Union is actively trying to get the University to pay at least a partial amount for benefits for those adjuncts who do not have them from other employment. This, he said, would require an adjunct not to have a spouse or any full-time professorship elsewhere to supplement income.

According to Pawlowski, the Administration offered to allot a set $25,000 to split between individual adjuncts, not including their families who need health care, no matter how many adjuncts need the benefits.

Pawlowski said there is little job security as an adjunct, explaining how many work different jobs, often with little pay and can be fired at any point. "On average, adjuncts are paid one quarter to one third of the pay that full-time professors receive. It's cheap labor," Pawlowski said, noting an ideal resolution would result in full access to benefits based on per-credit work and to see adjuncts paid on equal par with full-time faculty. "This, of course, is a Utopian goal," he said.

Pawlowski also said he thought the Administration under President Stephen J. Friedman and Provost Geoffrey Brackett would possibly bring about positive change. "Adjuncts shouldn't get the short end of the stick because of previous mismanagement," he said.

Pawlowski explained the University has to prove they do not have the money to pay for adjunct improvement. "If the University pleads poverty, they will have to open up their books and demonstrate it. They don't want to do that."

A strike, though threatened, is not the goal or desire of the adjuncts. In the case of a strike, the University could suffer significant problems including the possibility of shutting down. "This is a last option," Pawlowski said. "It's in the best interest of both parties to compromise. Both parties should walk away happy."

According to a press release on the University Web site regarding the labor negotiations, William J. McGrath, interim vice president, confirmed the $25,000 was offered at a Feb. 27 bargaining meeting. The Administration also confirmed they would pay $750 minimum per credit rate and salary increase averaging two percent starting Sept. 1. They also guaranteed the same average percentage increase given to full-time faculty. The release stated, "The Union proposed minimum credit-hour rates retroactive to 2004 which for some adjuncts would result in increases of up to 100 percent. The Union also proposed a salary adjustment of 20 percent retroactive to 2006-2007, an academic year in which all other University employees received a 2.5 percent increase."

Regarding health insurance, the release stated the Union proposed the University contribute up to 65 percent of the cost of some adjuncts' family health insurance coverage. This compares to the University contribution of up to 55 percent for full-time faculty. The Union also proposed that adjuncts who teach as few as three credits a year get the same dental coverage as full-time faculty members.

A press release issued by McGrath on April 4 stated, "The University does not want a strike, and we believe that a strike would be harmful to all parties. In the event a strike is called, however, the University intends to continue to meet its obligations to students and to operate in as close to a normal fashion as possible."

According to NYSUT, the organization represents 585,000 teachers, school-related professionals, academic and professional faculty in higher education, professionals in education and health care and retirees. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and the AFL-CIO.