Cincinnati adjuncts join AFT, kick off organizing campaign

Like many institutions around the country, the University of Cincinnati (UC) has dramatically increased its use of part-time faculty in recent years. Part-timers now make up about 42 percent of the UC faculty and teach the majority of the undergraduate courses.

Adjuncts at UC, like a growing number of their counterparts around the country, are turning toward collective action to improve their pay, working conditions and status on campus. This fall, the UC Adjunct Faculty Association announced that it had affiliated with the Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT) and the AFT to launch an organizing campaign to win collective bargaining rights for almost 1,500 adjunct faculty.

Howard Konicov, a UC calculus instructor, organized the adjunct association about two years ago because of what he characterizes as "a dispiriting environment to work in." The adjuncts' concerns at UC mirror those of part-timers at other institutions. For starters, the pay of $1,500 per course is about half the national average. Only those instructors who have an annual appointment and carry a full-time course load have the right to buy the university's health coverage--at full cost. Others don't even have that option. Job security is nonexistent, as are offices and personal telephones.

"It's important to support your teaching faculty," Konicov says. While university administrators focus on the money that research faculty bring in, a careful analysis would show that high-quality teaching faculty are also a good investment because they help the institution retain students, Konicov argues. "The university needs to see that it's not in its best interest to marginalize teaching faculty."

The UC adjunct campaign, the first in Ohio, faces some significant obstacles. As OFT president and AFT vice president Tom Mooney points out, part-time faculty are not included in the state's collective bargaining law, but the law does allow for voluntary recognition of the union by the university, so that will be the goal of the campaign. Ultimately, he adds, the OFT would like to see the state labor laws amended to include adjuncts.

Konicov promises a "dignified, professional campaign" by the Adjunct Faculty Association. "We're going to raise issues, and we're going to shine the light of public scrutiny on them one by one.... My sense is we can get this done fast, but of course the administration's strategy is to work at geological time. But the longer it takes, the stronger we'll be."

Honoring labor's legacy and message

The legacy of America's working men and women will be celebrated in Detroit with a five-story stainless steel arch near the city's waterfront. The Labor Legacy Landmark will pay tribute to the men and women of organized labor and help carry labor's message of justice and solidarity to future generations. The project will focus on the lives and achievements of working men and women in the Detroit metropolitan area.

"This project is not about labor leaders but about the working men and women who have been part of the labor movement," says David Hecker, president of the Michigan Federation of Teachers and School Related Personnel. The landmark "is designed to look forward [to] the vision that labor has for that future," stresses Hecker, the project's fundraising chair.

Called "Transcending," the soaring arch will be open at the top, and a blue light will arc back and forth between the two sides to symbolize labor's energy and ongoing work. At its base, 14 bronze relief sculptures set on polished granite boulders will be devoted to various aspects of the labor movement. The sculpture includes quotes from a number of labor leaders and members, including Mary Ellen Riordan, former president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers and a former AFT vice president, and former AFT higher education member Albert Einstein.

When it is completed, the Labor Legacy Project will be a place where teachers can give their students an on-site lesson in labor history.

Individuals who contribute at least $100 will have their name or the name of a family member, labor pioneer or other individual permanently placed on the Labor Wall of Honor at the site. Unions that contribute $1,000 or more will have their names placed on special sections of the wall.

Tax-deductible contributions can be sent to the Michigan Labor Legacy Project, c/o Walter Reuther Library, Wayne State University, 5401 Cass, Detroit, MI 48202. For further information, visit the project's Web site at www.laborlegacy.org/.

Math scores up, verbal scores down on SAT

First the good news: This year's SAT math scores rose to a 32-year high. On the flip side, verbal scores declined in 2002 and are barely above what they were 10 years ago.

The 2002 average national scores were 516 in math (up two points from 2001) and 504 in verbal (down two points). Comparable scores in 1992 were 501 math and 500 verbal.

Officials of the College Board, which produces the SAT, say the results show the success of efforts to get more students to take tougher math courses. "This year's scores confirm that efforts made to improve math education in the United States are paying off," says College Board president Gaston Caperton. "It is time to put that same kind of concerted energy [into] ensuring that students reach their potential as skilled readers and writers."

The College Board report indicates that course-taking trends in math and English have been headed in opposite directions over the past decade. As the accompanying chart shows, there has been a significant increase in students taking precalculus and calculus courses, while enrollment in English composition and grammar courses in high school has dropped.

The College Board also reported that participation in the SAT continues to expand. Forty-six percent of the class of 2002--an all-time high--took the test. Test-taking among minority students also reached a new high--35 percent.

In conjunction with its release of the 2002 scores, the College Board also announced formation of the Commission on Writing in America's Schools and Colleges. "Writing is a critical part of students' experience beginning in elementary school and continuing through junior high, high school and into college," said Arlene Ackerman, the superintendent of schools in San Francisco and the commission's vice chair. "The commission will reinforce the importance of writing throughout the curriculum for students at all levels."