Adjunct faculty at Southwestern Illinois College cast their votes on Sept. 22 in favor of union representation by the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) and the AFT. The vote was 70 to 4 in a unit of 290. The union, called the Part-Time College Professionals of Southwestern Illinois College (PTCP), joins three other IFT-affiliated units on campus representing full-time faculty, full and part-time support staff and part-time noninstructional professionals and public safety workers. The IFT now represents more than 800 employees on that campus.

Interest in organizing the adjuncts had grown in recent years due to changes in the state education bargaining law loosening restrictions on who among part-time workers is eligible to bargain. Also, part-timers noted that wages, benefits and conditions continued to decline for unrepresented employees while represented employees got steady and significant improvements.

At the same time, the college has grown increasingly dependent on using part-time faculty, who outnumber the full-time faculty more than six to one when those teaching just one course are included in the total faculty head count.

The unions on campus well understood the part-time faculty's concerns, says Bob Maguire, president of PTCP: "No offices, no phones. At times we're treated like stepchildren and that's not right." Given the support of campus groups, he adds, "the administration seemed to realize that maybe our concerns are legitimate."

As is the case with adjuncts nationwide, pay was a galvanizing issue. "Across the river, Missouri adjuncts make many times an hour what we get," says Maguire. The need for health benefits was another driving force. With adjuncts carrying six to nine hours of teaching a semester, most are not able to find other jobs that would provide health insurance. Seniority and pay for preparation are other concerns.

But the primary issue for his colleagues, says Maguire, is professional. "We'd enjoy status, consideration and respect within this educational community," he explains. "We are a unit of highly educated, intelligent people. We want to use our knowledge to make this a better institution." [Barbara McKenna]

[October 3, 2003]