AFT Higher Education has been on a roll this spring, winning elections at two community colleges in New Jersey and at another in Illinois. On April 9, the adjunct faculty at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, Ill., voted 90 to 6 for union representation by the AFT.  The unit of 190 adjuncts joins two other Illinois Federation of Teachers locals on that campus, where the IFT represents 180 full-time faculty and 200 full-time and part-time support staff.

Part-timers were galvanized by the need for adequate salary, benefits and professional resources, such as office space, says Randy Southard, president of the full-time faculty union, which helped in the organizing effort.

On May 6, a semester of hard work organizing adjuncts at two New Jersey community colleges paid off with victories on the campuses of Hudson County Community College and Passaic County Community College. Hudson adjuncts voted 98 to 12 against no agent to bring the unit of more than 300 under the AFT umbrella. At Passaic, the vote was 89 yes for the AFT and 60 voting no in a unit of 300.

The issues for the New Jersey adjuncts are salaries and benefits, as with most part-time faculty, but also respect--including more notice of teaching assignments, says Stan Maron, an English instructor who teaches at Hudson. Also, a seniority system would lend more predictability to the job.

The closer vote at Passaic reflects a climate of intimidation created by the administration as the campaign unfolded, says Maron. Management sent a letter to adjuncts that included misinformation and circulated rumors about job losses that would follow a pro-union vote. The union responded with facts, says Maron, and let the truth drown out the voices of the vocal few who were working against the interests of the part-timers.

Earlier this spring, adjuncts at Union County College voted for AFT representation. In total, the New Jersey Federation of Teachers represents eight two-year college adjunct locals. [Mel Driban, Stan Maron, Barbara McKenna]

[May 13, 2003]