Adjunct Voices: Safety is Not a Top Priority

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Safety is Not a Top Priority

by: Anonymous 

I’ve been a LSCS employee for about five years. I remember being so excited when I first received a job offer. I did not attend Lone Star as a college student, but I often utilized one of their campus libraries as a studying sanctuary while I earned my bachelor’s degree. The design of the library, the landscaping, and the organization of the campus made me fall in love with Lone Star. I genuinely enjoyed my study trips to the campus because it meant studying in such a beautiful place. So, years later, when I graduated from my university, I was excited to work in the environment I loved greatly.

However, after working for LSCS for the last five-ish years, I can say without a doubt that the beauty of Lone Star campuses is only skin deep. In my position, I deal with students every single day, several times a day, and there is no such thing as a “usual day.” Monday might be nice and easy, Tuesday might be a complete disaster, and Wednesday might be so hectic, I sneak off to the restroom and cry. Over the last years, I’ve had students intimidate me by getting right in my face, use deep, harsh tones, curse at me, threaten to hurt me, accuse me of not wanting to help them, and most recently – I had one who scared me so much, I was terrified of returning to work the following day. I’ve expressed my safety concerns to my supervisors every time I have any, but the result is always the same: nothing.

The process of reporting an incident involves the same steps each time: have an in-person conversation followed by an email following up with details, so there is a written record of the incident. Then, the supervisor(s) will email a response, claiming he or she is always concerned for employee safety. Until I see actual proof of this statement, I refuse to believe it.

Students who have been my biggest concerns are still on campus. Their behavior is unchanged and their attitudes have worsened since they are aware of my reports thanks to the supervisors. Some, but not all of these students, have learning accommodations, and when this is the case, I am always told to “be more understanding” and “have more patience.” I was even told this about the student who terrified me so much, I considered quitting because I feared being physically hurt by this student. When I described the incident to a supervisor, she said, without knowledge of any accommodations records, “Perhaps the student has accommodations.” After a light investigation, it was found this student did not have accommodations. The solution for this incident was that I try to be more understanding of all students, regardless of accommodations or no accommodations.

LSCS has safety workshops for employees, such as what to do in the event of an active shooter, a lockdown, a fire, a natural disaster, etc. and while these workshops give useful information, they’re not much helpful beyond just giving information. For example, in the event of an active shooter, hiding is an option for an employee, but if the shooter enters the employee’s hiding place and the employee is armed, the employee is advised NOT to shoot back due LSCS not wanting to deal with lawsuits. An employee can use other tools such a textbook or chair for defensive, but not a personal firearm or other personal weapon. In other words, employees are expected to simply die for a college that does not value them in the first place.

Yet, each time I express a concern, I am faced with the same routine. 1. Speak to a supervisor, 2. Send a follow up email, and 3. Wonder why I brought up the incident at all. Nothing is ever done and protection seems to be for the students only. I can’t say why this is because I don’t know the exact reason, but it might have something to do with keeping tuition money flowing to the college. Who knows? While I used to be ecstatic to be a LSCS employee, my perspective on LSCS has changed dramatically after witnessing the lack of addressing employee safety concerns. I admit that I tend to “half ass” my duties now because I just don’t care anymore. I can’t have enthusiasm for a place which dismisses all my safety concerns. Perhaps LSCS should be more understanding of their employees.

AFT Comments to LSCS Board of Trustees -- August 2018

AFT Presentation to the Board of Trustees – August, 2018

John Burgdhuff, Faculty

Good evening. I am John Burghduff representing the American Federation of Teachers. It has been three months since I last spoke to you. Last month was your annual summer break. On the afternoon of the June meeting, I was in Rosenberg with a delegation of faculty and administrators from CyFair meeting with our counterparts in the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District. We were meeting to plan Lone Star’s newest dual credit collaboration extending our college’s outreach to high school students in western Fort Bend County. It is a great opportunity for them but too far away for me to get to The Woodlands in time to speak. Tonight you have before you the final vote on Lone Star College’s budget for the coming fiscal year. With the losses we have had to overcome from Harvey, especially at Kingwood, the union recognizes that this has to have been one of the most difficult budgets the college has had to develop. In the face of many obstacles, we are very glad to see the college’s commitment to hire additional full time faculty. Improving the percentage of classes taught by fulltime faculty improves our students’ access to professors who can devote their full time and efforts to Lone Star College and its programs. We are also glad to see money set aside to resolve lingering discrepancies in classification and compensation among our staff that have been hurtful to employee morale. In addition, we acknowledge the 2% pay increase for most college employees. 2% matches the cost of living adjustment the Social Security administration has selected for its beneficiaries for 2018. Although these rates of increase are consistent with one another, as a labor union we need to point out some concerns. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the consumer price index has risen 2.9% in the 12 months ending in June. Also, according to the human resources professional group World at Work, as reported by the Society for Human Resource Management, the projected median increase in salary across all sectors and job types in 2018 is expected to be 3%. So, while we recognize the challenges our current budget situation poses, we must attest that Lone Star employee pay for the coming year will fall behind both inflation and median salaries across the economy. We also must note our concern that, for the second year in a row, salaries for adjunct instructors will not be increased at all. Adjunct faculty continue to account for well over half of all classes taught at Lone Star College and yet many of them have to work multiple jobs to eek out a minimal living with no benefits. Adjunct pay at Lone Star has now fallen below our largest neighboring community college systems. An adjunct teaching a standard three hour lecture class with us earns $2004 over a semester. The same adjunct teaching the same class would earn $2010 at Houston Community College and $2016 at San Jacinto College.5 Although the differences are small, being behind at all is out of place in a system that, by all accounts, is in much better overall financial health than almost all other colleges. Again, the union both recognizes and appreciates the special challenges this budget year presents and expresses our sincere hope that the concerns we raise need to be addressed in future budgets. We also wish to remind the Board of our presentation at the May meeting in which we showed that, at the cost of three grande lattes per month to a typical homeowner, Lone Star’s property tax rate could be brought up to the state average and generate an additional $123 million. We ask the Board to consider whether, even now, additional revenues like these could be brought to bear this year to minimize the salary concerns we raise. Finally, the Board will be considering tonight a renewed contract for our chancellor. The proposed salary for the coming year is not published in the official agenda so we do not know what is being considered. The union believes that all employees deserve to be fairly compensated for the work they do and that includes the chancellor. Stating the proposed salary in the agenda would have leant greater transparency that would inspire greater trust. We hope that, in the spirit of solidarity, whatever salary is approved should be consistent with the percentage salary increases of all other employees. Thank you for your kind consideration.

Adjuncts, Unions, and the "Right to Work"

2018 has become the Year of the Educator, with several "red" states' educators striking or otherwise successfully reminding their legislators about the, frankly, deplorable classroom situation in which our colleagues teach. As a union of educators, we applaud those secondary and primary teachers for their successful organizing (active verb) and effective communication with their sympathetic communities.

Source: Creative Commons

At the same time, the long discussion of adjuncts in colleges and universities reminds us that our contingent faculty colleagues struggle. The U.S. media applauds a strong economy (and we can argue that), but the situation for college adjuncts has maintained a sore discussion.

In 1975, 30 percent of college faculty were part-time. By 2011, 51 percent of college faculty were part-time, and another 19 percent were non–tenure track, full-time employees. In other words, 70 percent were contingent faculty, a broad classification that includes all non–tenure track faculty (NTTF), whether they work full-time or part-time. (Edmonds)

Of course, in Texas, we live and work in a "right to work" state (where educators who strike will have their teaching certificates and their Teacher Retirement System [TRS] benefits permanently revoked) and the economic market stacks the deck in favor of college employers, allowing them to cut back on wages and benefits (American Federation of Teachers). It's all about capitalism, right? Over the years, the number of full-time professors has dropped while that of adjunct professors has risen, as colleges attempt to rein in costs. Public colleges in particular rely on adjuncts.

This is a problem, because:

Firstly, some research demonstrates that the American academy reliance on adjuncts may harm students. Because of the realities of contingent working, adjunct faculties have fewer resources to support their students. This is more so in the community college, where our students need more resources, not fewer. For example, adjuncts rarely have dedicated office support staff, lack dedicated offices to meet with students, and many of our adjunct faculty drive from far away, arrive to campus in time to prepare the class, and need to leave after class for another job. This prevents convenient face-to-face time with students. The Delphi Project research has shown that students who take more classes from contingent faculty have lower graduation rates and are less likely to transfer from two-year to four-year institutions. Due largely to the exploitative conditions of their work, adjunct faculty are often less student-centered in their teaching, have less contact with students outside of class, and spend less time preparing for classes (Kezar & DePaola). A student's learning conditions will only ever be their teacher's working conditions.

Secondly, the hiring process reflects an economic market insecurity. Adjunct faculty are hired largely because of enrollment rates, and in community colleges, the enrollment rates are very sensitive to market economies. We have heard too many stories of adjuncts being hired a week before the semester, a day before the semester, the day after the semester has started, and the related stress of the insecurity and preparation. 

Thirdly, the insecurity of contingency reflects other economic insecurities and the first obvious is lack of health security. Though the Affordable Care Act attempted to address this, most community colleges lack support for  sufficient physical and mental health (this is true for Lone Star College, for example).  A March 2015 survey conducted by Pacific Standard among nearly 500 adjuncts found that a majority earn less than $20,000 per year from teaching (Chang). Nationally and locally, many adjunct faculty rely on additional government benefits. Typically, such as in Lone Star College, adjuncts are not paid for professional development and required department meetings. Of course, adjuncts are not paid for non "contact hours," though some disciplines require extensive preparation and grading. 

We should note that TA and adjunct union membership is increasing (Edwards and Tolley). The strongest strides over the past two years have been in non "right to work" states. In those other states:

Unionized faculty have negotiated steady increases that are significantly higher, and some of the steepest gains have come from unions formed within the last few years.

and

Eighty-nine percent of the contracts we examined include provisions allowing part-time faculty to receive health insurance. (Edwards and Tolley)

On the other hand, when a union does not collectively prioritize salary and benefits with adjuncts, these questions are delayed. In other words, as a union, we must prioritize our adjuncts' needs (salary, benefits, shared governance, working environment) for the whole college strength. Every department meeting, every curriculum discussion, every "safety" discussion on campus must include the real lives of our adjunct colleagues.

We Propose:

1. Tell stories. All employees should share stories of adjunct faculty; this blog is a perfect space to share and listen.
2. Share stories with the community. Lone Star College is somewhat effective with their marketing in the community, but the college does not market the adjunct reality. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) provides a useful set of questions to ask of any school you’re interested in.
3. Inform students of the realities of adjuncts, how our adjuncts must balance time and resources with students, and explain how tuition relates to a contingent faculty.
4. Include our adjunct colleagues in meetings, listen to their needs, collaborate with everyone for working space and support. When we discuss with administration, the term "adjunct" should be included in every conversation.  

Photo rawpixel on Unsplash

Resources

American Federation of Teachers. (n.d.) "What is Right to Work." 

Chang, Bettina. (2015) "Survey: The State of Adjunct Professors." Pacific Standard.

Coalition on the Academic Workforce. (2012) "A Portrait of Part-Time Faculty Members."

Edmonds, Dan. (2015) "More Than Half of College Faculty Are Adjuncts: Should You Care?" Forbes.

Edwards, Kristen and Kim Tolley. (2018) "Do Unions Help Adjuncts?

What dozens of collective-bargaining agreements can tell us. Chronicle of Higher Education.

Kezar, A. & DePaola, T. (2018). "Understanding the need for unions:  Contingent faculty working conditions and the relationship to student learning." In Professors in the gig economy: The unionization of adjunct faculty in America.

Korkki, Phyllis. (2018) "Adjunct Professors Step up Their Efforts to Increase Pay." New York Times.  

McKenna, Laura. (2015). "The Cost of an Adjunct." The Atlantic.

Link: Portrait of a Budget Cut

"My office mate once pointed out that there’s no such thing as a budget cut. There are only resource cuts, class cuts, people cuts. Budgets don’t hurt when they get cut. I do."

Last month at Inside Higher Ed, Adjunct Professor Sara Tatyana Bernstein wrote about her experience being a "budget cut" and the subtle dehumanization brought about not just by having her job and livelihood cut, but getting an email informing her of the cut titled "2017-2018 Budget Cuts."

It's an important reminder of the need for solidarity between full time and adjunct faculty, and of the ways that rhetorical choices made by administration can rub salt in a wound.

Read her account, "Portrait of a Budget Cut," here.