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The legislation is aimed at improving working conditions for adjunct faculty members who are teaching at public colleges and universities, which have persistent staffing shortages.
MTA advocating for Adjunct 'Bill of Rights'
MTA advocating for Adjunct 'Bill of Rights'
An “Adjunct Bill of Rights” aimed at improving working conditions for adjunct faculty members who are teaching at public colleges and universities, which have persistent staffing shortages, was heard by the members of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Higher Education on Thursday, Sept. 11.
The Massachusetts Teachers Association has long advocated for legislation to create a wage structure that pays adjunct faculty wages that are equitable to those of full-time faculty and to provide a pathway for adjuncts to be eligible for retirement benefits and employer-provided health care plans.
“Because of the Fair Share Amendment, the Commonwealth now provides tuition-free access to community college for all and free tuition and mandatory fees to our state universities and UMass for middle- to lower-income students,” said MTA President Max Page. “But Massachusetts has not invested in the faculty who do the bulk of the teaching at many of our public colleges accepting these new students, many of whom are first-generation college students and non-traditional students. The state has a long, troubling history of exploiting this vital, highly qualified workforce dedicated to delivering high-quality public education. The bill also focuses on student success, as it calls for public colleges to hire more full-time faculty who can serve in advisory and support roles, as well as teach.”
Page and MTA Vice President Deb McCarthy testified at the State House hearing on Thursday, Sept. 11. Jerry Levinsky of the Massachusetts Society of Professors at UMass, Melissa Santos of the Association of Professional Administrators, and Paul Johansen, Julia Roberto and Phyllis Keenan, all of the Massachusetts Community College Council, were among the MTA members supporting the legislation.
The bill, H.1429/S. 940, would allow adjunct faculty teaching at least a half-time schedule to access the state pension system. The bill also ends discriminatory practices that block adjuncts from receiving health care benefits. And the bill sets up mechanisms to stabilize the public higher ed workforce by creating pathways for adjuncts to become full-time faculty and requiring colleges to have at least 75 percent of courses taught by full-time faculty.
McCarthy pointed out that many adjuncts are full-time educators but not hired as full-time employees or who split their teaching across several colleges.
“With free community college and debt-free access to public four-year universities, enrollment is rising while many campuses – especially among community colleges – are having trouble filling vacancies,” McCarthy said. “This bill will begin to treat adjunct faculty fairly and help address staffing shortages to the benefit of students and ultimately to the benefit of communities.”