Dr. Keith Hoeller's Article Describes Unemployment Benefits Bog for College Faculty Who are Classified as Adjunct, Part Time, or Contingent.

Dr. Keith Hoeller's July 22, 2020 publication provides a wealth of background regarding the stacked deck of unemployment benefits for adjunct faculty. Besides the important details from past to present, the article includes ways to successfully file and receive unemployment benefits, as well as first hand narratives and reports from other adjunct faculty, including Jack Longmate. 

"Monthly Review Online has just published [Dr. Keith Hoeller's] lengthy article called "Colleges Layoff Underpaid Adjuncts Then Challenge Their Unemployment Claims":

https://mronline.org/2020/07/22/colleges-layoff-underpaid-adjuncts-then-challenge-their-unemployment-claims/

It is a history of the term "reasonable assurance" and its interpretation by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).  It is also a history of the many attempts to try and get the DOL to change its discrimination against adjuncts.  I offer several solutions to these problems.

Thanks to the California court decision known as   Cervisi, adjuncts in California do not face the same kind of hassles and hurdles that adjuncts in all the other states confront.  But the DOL has vigorously fought the many efforts to expand the   Cervisi decision nationwide.

There is also a sidebar article by Jack Longmate describing the plight of one adjunct here in Washington state."

________________________

“We Now Have the Worst Unemployment Rate Since the Great Depression,” read   Slate’s headline. The 20.5 million jobs lost in April and the nearly 15% unemployment rate “may understate the actual extent of joblessness,” writes reporter Jacob Weissman.

"More than   51 million people have filed initial unemployment claims since the pandemic lockdown began seventeen weeks ago. But if you add the millions of people who dropped out and stopped looking for work, writes   DailyKos reporter Meteor Blades, the real unemployment rate was more likely 26.3%, or “higher than the worst of the Great Depression at 25.6% in May 1933. Almost three times worse than the Great Recession at 10% in October 2009.”

"Though most colleges have been able to forestall some faculty layoffs by moving Spring classes online and instituting hiring freezes, the   Chronicle of Higher Education says that 20,000 jobs were lost in March alone, which is two and one-half times the next highest monthly job loss in the past forty years. The   Chronicle is now keeping a   college by college tally of pay cuts, unpaid furloughs and faculty layoffs, though they are not tracking whether these are hitting tenure-track or contingent professors the hardest.

“June Brought More Faculty Layoffs” headlined an article in   Forbes magazine.  Michael Nietzel gave a roll call of colleges and universities laying off professors, and wrote, “The announcements come after other cost-cutting measures—widespread furloughs, salary reductions, elimination of vacant positions and large cutbacks in operating expenses—have proven insufficient to cover ever-widening budget holes.”

For the complete article, please see:

https://mronline.org/2020/07/22/colleges-layoff-underpaid-adjuncts-then-challenge-their-unemployment-claims/

 

Dr. Keith Hoeller, author of Counterpunch magazine article, "Apprentices to Nowhere: From Impoverished Graduate Students to Impoverished College Professors." Friday, March 6, 2020

Friday, March 6, 2020 Dr. Keith Hoeller, author of Counterpunch magazine  article, "Apprentices to Nowhere:  From Impoverished Graduate Students to Impoverished College Professors." 

You can find the complete article via the following link:

"Apprentices to Nowhere: From Impoverished Graduate Students to Impoverished College Professors." https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/03/06/apprentices-to-nowhere-from-impoverished-graduate-students-to-impoverished-college-professors/

 

The article centers on the graduate teaching assistants who have commenced a statewide strike in the University of California system:

"Why have 233 graduate teaching assistants gone on strike at the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC)? Why did University of California (UC) President Janet Napolitano issue a  warning letter threatening to fire the striking graduate students? Why did the University of California call in police from outside the college who used batons against the nonviolent protesters and then arrested 17 of them? Why did the University of California Santa Cruz  refuse to offer Spring classes to nearly 30 teaching assistants? And why did the UC Santa Cruz outright  fire another 54 of them?"

I try to place the graduate student strike within the larger context of the contingent faculty movement as a whole.

Cordially,

Keith Hoeller

Co-founder (with Teresa Knudsen), Washington Part-Time Faculty Association

Editor,  Equality for Contingent Faculty: Overcoming the Two-Tier System (Vanderbilt University Press)

Seattle, WA

AFA Q and A : Question from A New Instructor Who Hasn't Taught Before, July 13, 2019

The reply I gave to a new instructor who has never taught a university class, and who only has 5 weeks to prep, doesn't seem to "save" on the post about classroom prep hours. So, I'm including it here in this post, without the more detailed research I'd like to do. Here is the link to the article, with the instructor's question at the end of the article, following other postings
http://americanfacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/02/hours-for-teaching-and-preparation-rule.html

Hello and Thank you for your note. I'd love to research and give you lots of advice, and will do so in a week or so. Meanwhile, it's very astute of you to ask for the syllabus from other teachers. The department chair could also provide syllabus examples, and types of assignments, whether graded or not. Work on your research for the subject of the course. This will give you knowledge and confidence. Also, keep any communications regarding offering you the part-time position. (If it was only spoken, then email back to whoever hired you, and confirm what was said in the email. Did they give you a contract? If so, make about 5 copies for your records. Regarding calendars, I like to keep two: one monthly for an overall view, and one weekly for more details. Each day you will teach, write the time and subject: for example, 10:00 Eng 101. Then, you might also have a binder/notebook, a teaching log, with the days and dates of your class meetings. Write the day and date at the top. You are ready to add curriculum plans and extra info, such as holidays and other school events. There is a lot of record keeping in teaching. Keep everything, note everything, on your teaching log and/or monthly/weekly calendars. You can note student absences and/or possible discipline issues. Plan assignments so that you can quickly return them. It's a challenge to return assignments in two days, but if possible, the quick return helps keep the learning fresh. Regarding teaching, you could do online research for classroom managements skills for a university. However, your university should have a student and faculty handbook, either hard copy or online. This should clearly outline classroom expectations, and helps provide clear guidelines for all. You will discover that teaching even one class is not part-time, as it's easy to think about the class a lot. We all try to work to limit this energy, and keep energy for our other jobs and our private lives. We all must stay healthy, take care of ourselves, and plan recreation time. Regarding going into the classroom to teach for the first time, remember you are the captain of this ship. You could share with the students that you are up on the topic and current research, but new to teaching. Students know when we make mistakes or don't know something, so I've found it's best to share this. When I haven't known the answer to a question, I tell the class I'll research it, and try to answer next class. This seemed to be ok with my students. Some of them will do their best to help you. Remember to keep everything, including a record of your prep time. Try not to worry, as it doesn't do any good. Teaching is like surfing: sometimes we get knocked over by little or big waves. Sometimes, we get a lovely smooth, and energetic ride. You are strong and you can do this. Just don't forget to keep and record everything.

Dr. Keith Hoeller's Latest Op-Ed July 1, 2019 "The Real College Inequality Democrats Have Yet to Address" published in Counterpunch

 

This morning Counterpunch published Dr. Keith Hoeller's latest op-ed, "The Real College Inequality Democrats Have Yet to Address."

Here are some brief excerpts:

"Just in time for the 2020 presidential election, the Democrats have discovered that there is real economic inequality in the United States. But they have not yet fully addressed the role that the Democratic party and its leaders have played in creating this vast inequality that led to the election of President Donald Trump in 2016....

“If politicians are going to solve a problem, they must first have a clear diagnosis before offering a treatment. Before the Democrats spend tax money on free tuition and paying off student loans, they need to acknowledge the income disparity among the professoriate and make solving it an equal priority.”

For the complete article, please see:

https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/07/01/the-real-college-inequality-democrats-have-yet-to-address/

Hoeller, Dr. Keith, and Longmate, Jack Op-Ed Opposed to SHB 2158: "Who are Our State's Worst Paid Teachers?" Washington State Part Time Faculty Association, Seattle Times, Friday, April 26, 2019

A Call for Action: We must engage to improve our world.

UPDATE SUNDAY APRIL 28, 2019

Both E2SHB 2158 and Conference Budget Omit Equity Pay for Adjunct Professors

 

 

"The Democrats are still trying to pass legislation tomorrow (Sunday) and leave Olympia.  Their big plan is to tax businesses and home sellers in order to pay for free college tuition for high school graduates.

Except for us, no one in Olympia has suggested the hypocrisy of offering free tuition to attend colleges staffed by low paid adjuncts. 

Jack Longmate and I have been writing legislators.  But it would help if they heard from others as well.  Letters should be short (they don't read long ones) and to the point:  Please provide money specifically for adjuncts to reduce the huge disparity in our pay compared with the full-timers.

We laid out the complete argument in our op-ed (you can post comments too):

https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/who-are-our-states-worst-paid-teachers/

It would really help if you can take the time to write a few legislators in support of adjunct faculty equity pay.  You can find their email addresses at leg.wa.gov.  Family members can write too.

 

Christine RolfesChair, Senate Ways and Means CommitteeOlympia, WA 98504Both the Conference budget and E2SHB 2158 do not contain any money earmarked solely to adjunct faculty for the purpose of reducing the huge disparity in their pay compared to their full-time counterparts.  Unless you earmark adjunct equity money now, we will go on being paid only 60 cents on the dollar for teaching the exact same courses as the full-timers.

E2SHB 2158 says that "The legislature finds that individuals with a post-secondary credential have a greater chance of earning a wage that can support themselves and their families than if they do not obtain a post-secondary credential."

But this fact does not apply to students who earn advanced degrees if they choose to teach in those colleges.  The average adjunct professor who teaches half-time is lucky to earn even $20K a year, while the average public school teacher earns $60K plus benefits.

Please put the Democrats on the side of "equal pay for equal work."  Don't leave Olympia without earmarking a significant down payment to improve salaries specifically for adjunct professors.

Cordially,

Keith Hoeller, Ph.D. 

Co-founder, Washington Part-Time Faculty Association

Editor, Equality for Contingent Faculty: Overcoming the Two-Tier System (Vanderbilt University Press)

Seattle, WA

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
"Jack Longmate and I have just published an op-ed in The Seattle Times.  It is called, "Who are our state's worst paid teachers?"  https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/who-are-our-states-worst-paid-teachers/ "

We are opposing SHB 2158 because it wants to tax businesses hundreds of millions of dollars in large part to offer free college tuition to lower income residents while doing nothing at all for the adjuncts who teach in those colleges.

We find this hypocritical, to say the least.

Could you take the time to write your legislators and to ask them 1) to vote against SHB 2158 and 2) to put money in the budget for adjunct faculty? 

 

[Here is the link: http://leg.wa.gov/ ]

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Op-Ed Opposed to SHB 2158: "Who are Our State's Worst Paid Teachers?"   Can you write to your legislators opposing SHB 2158 immediately?   We urge you to please read our op-ed below to understand why the Washington Part-Time Faculty is opposed to SHB 2158.  It would offer free college tuition to low income residents, while doing nothing--for the 10th year in a row--to improve the poverty-level salaries of our state's 8,000 adjunct college professors. We ask you to VOTE NO on SHB 2158--until and unless the bill is amended to address this issue this session by allocating $50 million this biennium solely to adjunct salaries. Cordially, Keith Hoeller Washington Part-Time Faculty Association Seattle and Spokane, WA Opinion  The Seattle Times Who are our state’s worst paid teachers? April 26, 2019 at 2:47 pm Updated April 26, 2019 at 3:21 pm By Jack Longmate  and  Keith Hoeller Special to The Times (Excerpts) In 2018, the average public school teacher salary in Washington was nearly $60,000 though it is surely higher this year. Yet an adjunct college professor who possesses a master’s or doctorate degree, would be lucky to earn even $20,000 for teaching a half-time load... Rep. Drew Hansen, D-Bainbridge, wants to enable all state residents “to get a decent job and be able to support their family.” Yet his House Bill 2158, called the Workforce Education Investment Act, seeks to “invest in Washington students for Washington jobs” without doing anything at all for the students who got graduate degrees and ended up teaching in the adjunct ghetto created quite deliberately by our two-year colleges.... From 1996-2009 the Legislature did make payments each biennium for a total of $50 million for the sole purpose of improving adjunct pay, but stopped with the recession.  The current Legislature should renew its commitment to equalizing adjunct salaries by allocating $50 million per biennium solely for the funding of equal pay for adjuncts over three biennia so that, by 2025, equal pay is achieved.... If our politicians truly care about education, they will provide a living wage for the 8,000 adjuncts who toil in our academic vineyards before spending more money offering free tuition to new students. For complete article, please go to: https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/who-are-our-states-worst-paid-teachers/