Part-Time Issues

Legislative Part-Time Alert: AB 852 (Fong)

You can track the legislation described below here. You can also dowload a PDF copy of the bill here. The bill's description below is from the Around The Capitol website.

"Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, which are administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Governing bodies of community college districts are authorized to employ any person holding appropriate certification documents, and to classify these employees as temporary employees, as prescribed."

"This bill would provide that beginning July 1, 2012, temporary community college faculty members have a right of first refusal for assignments, as defined, subject to any greater rights provided in a collective bargaining agreement or otherwise provided by a district. A temporary faculty member would only be denied the right of first refusal for just cause, as defined, must be notified promptly in writing of the denial and would be entitled to a procedure providing due process for promptly challenging the denial. This bill would provide that the right of first refusal may not be construed as reasonable assurance of employment for purposes of unemployment compensation eligibility between academic terms."

"Because this bill would impose additional duties on community college districts, it would impose a state-mandated local program."

"The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement."

"This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions."

Confessions of a Tenured Professor

Full-time Instructor Underscores Plight of Part-Time Faculty

Seldom have we seen an article that so completely underscores the plight of part-time faculty in our institutions of higher learning, and almost never do such pieces flow from the pen of a long-time full-time instructor...with the notable exception of this personal essay that appeared in a recent issue of Inside Higher Education.

In his discussion of what he refers to as "ad-cons" (adjunct and contingent faculty) and their increasing presence as the majority on most campuses, Peter Brown writes, "The exploitation is indeed filthy, but for me and my tenured colleagues, this scandal is neither little nor secret: the vast majority of those well-educated, skilled professionals who daily teach millions of students in our classrooms are actually being paid far less than the workers who nightly clean them. Ad-cons are treated as chattel or as servants who can be dismissed at the will and whim of any administrator from departmental chair to dean or provost. And woe to those ad-cons who elicit the wrath of their campus presidents! They can be non-renewed without any due process whatsoever, simply zapped, either individually or by the hundreds. We all know this, but most tenured faculty colleagues choose to simply look the other way. C’est la vie. Tough luck. Life just isn’t fair. Keep on walking and change the subject."

Want to read more from this professor who actually helped start the New Faculty Majority, the only national organization advocating exclusively for part-time and contingent faculty? Click here!

Faculty Equity: Vision for a New Progressive Era

You may not have gotten around to looking through the latest issue of NEA's higher education journal, Thought & Action--but there's one article in particular that you need to read. The focus of this quarter's journal is "A New Progressive Era for Higher Education," and in it one professor posits that such a progressive vision requires complete and genuine equity for all faculty across the board. The author of the article, "Wouldn't a New Progressive Era Require Faculty Equity?," is Steve Street, who has taught both part- and full-time in several U.S. colleges and universities, and is the current part-time concerns representative on the State University of New York's Buffalo College United University Professions. He writes:

"In much the same way that in order to restore public confidence in a corrupt police force, payoff networks must be dismantled before hiring new cops on the beat or buying new cruisers, the system that created the two-tiered faculty--tenure-line and contingent--on our nation's campuses must go."

In order to further discussion among our members and colleagues, we encourage you to read the full article.

Part-time Rehire Rights

AB 1807, the Assembly bill currently under discussion in the legislature that would require all districts to establish rehire rights for part-time faculty, is generating a lot of talk on community college campuses. Most district administrators, as well as the Community College League (which represents district interests as opposed to faculty or student interests), have trounced on the idea like it was a virulent plague. Most part-time faculty and a handful of unions--including CCA, as we noted in the article above--herald the legislation, while many full-timers remain uncertain at best and loudly opposed at worst. So, what's the truth about AB 1807? What does it really mean, and what would it really do? Why do part-timers need it? Moreover, how does it relate to the current state of part-time faculty in California? For a clearer picture of these and other issues related to part-time faculty rights--or lack of same--in our community colleges, take a look at this PDF presentation on Part-time Faculty Rehire Rights.

For critical information about your rights to unemployment benefits, please review this page.