When the Berklee College of Music Faculty Federation (BCMFF) negotiated a part-time to full-time faculty conversion clause in its contract six years ago, the union vowed to keep such conversions among its highest priorities. Thus, when management came to the union this spring and asked if it could postpone negotiations on the expiring contract for a year, the union knew what to do. It agreed to an extension--but only if the college would sweeten the offer by throwing in an additional five conversions by September 2004.

BCMFF executive vice president Michael Farquharson says the deal is a testament both to the union’s strength and to its commitment to part-time members. The union represents 193 full-time faculty and 280 part-timers.

Over the 18 years that it has been a union, BCMFF managed to bring its faculty from among the lowest paid in the Boston area to the highest paid music educators in the country. At the same time, it has secured health and retirement benefits for part-timers. And with the conversion language negotiated in its 1998-2001 and 2001-2004 contracts, it has been able to convert a total of 65 part-timers into full-timers.

This year, the college is facing a change in leadership at the top and the administration was eager to take labor talks off the new president’s plate. Although the administration "desperately did not want to go into negotiations," Farquharson says that the union set up "a pseudo-contract negotiating team" and began "semi-bargaining" for changes in the contract extension.

Management was obliged to listen. "We have a very strong faculty. They know it would be very easy for us to take a 96 percent strike vote," said Farquharson, noting a successful strike in 1986 when the union shut down campus for two weeks.

Effective this September, any part-time faculty member will be able to fill out an application and submit it to the provost, who will promote five to full-time status.

Six years ago, the ratio of full-time to part-time was about 30:70, says Farquharson. Now it’s 40:60 and the goal is 50:50. By contract definition, full-time faculty work a maximum of 18 weighted hours per semester; part-timers work a maximum of 17 weighted hours at an hourly rate.

"We are happy to work at a college that continues to recognize the great commitment and effort made by our part-time faculty," said Farquharson. [Barbara McKenna / AFT On Campus]