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Oregon Holds Hearings on FACE

Part-time and adjunct faculty in Oregon who are trying to make a full-time living at teaching testified as to the toll the lifestyle takes on them as professionals and on students.

View the video capturing their testimony:

In an afternoon hearing before the Oregon House of Representatives Higher Education Committee on March 29, members of AFT Oregon commented on the problem the state faces with it use and exploitation of contingent academic labor and its impact on teachers and students.

The Committee is considering HB 2578, the Faculty and College Excellence Act, a bill introduced Feb. 6 that would achieve two goals. It would ensure that all faculty members receive the financial and professional support they need to do their best work and it would establish a better balance between the number of full-time tenured faculty, and part- and full-time nontenure-track faculty. Oregon is one of 10 states that is considering such legislation.

For more information on the AFT FACE campaign, please visit: http://aftface.org. You will find all the resources to learn and educate yourself about the campaign including model legislation, a toolkit for mounting an effort in your state, news reports and the personal stories of FACE activists.

April 16, 2007

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FACE Model Legislation

Here are excerpts from model legislation that AFT affiliates have used as the basis for bills they are committed to introducing in 15 states. In addition to laying out the rationale and goals for the legislation (below), the model specifies a procedure for achieving those goals. It describes methods for determining salary standards for pro-rata pay, working with a collective bargaining agent where one is present, setting part-time and full-time faculty ratios, and establishing a policy regarding priority consideration for part-time faculty. It also establishes a Faculty Restoration and Equity Fund to pay for the initiative. To see the complete model language, go to FACE.aft.org.

FINDINGS Twin developments—the economic exploitation of part-time/adjunct and other nontenure-track faculty along with the shrinking ranks of full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty—limit the ability of the state higher education system to provide high quality education, research, and support for economic development. Improving the conditions under which part-time/adjunct and other nontenure-track faculty work, and ensuring that our colleges and universities employ sufficient numbers of full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty members, will result in better service for our students, our communities and our economy.

GOALS The legislature sets the following goals:
All part-time/adjunct and other nontenure-track faculty members shall receive pay that is equal, on a pro rata basis, with that of tenured or tenure-track faculty of comparable qualifications doing comparable work.

All part-time/adjunct and other nontenure-track faculty members shall be eligible to participate in the employee retirement plan and all part-time/adjunct faculty members teaching at least 50 percent of the established workload for full-time tenured faculty shall be eligible for the same health care benefits as full-time tenured faculty.

At least 75 percent of the undergraduate courses offered within each department on each campus of each public institution of higher education, if the department has at least eight full-time equivalent faculty positions, shall be taught by full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty.

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