National Adjunct Walkout Day (Today!)

[1Q84]

(crappy school computer erased original post, so this might be a little terse).

 

I was dismayed to only find out about this event late last night, which prevented me from being able to adequately plan for any action today. As I understand it, NAWD is meant to be awareness-raising action only, so in that I think organizers have both failed (I didn't know about it until last night) and succeeded (main goals have been pushing us to inform undergraduates/general public).

 

Here's what I did: I didn't tell students class was cancelled but when they arrived, I informed them that it was NAWD and talked for a bit about adjunct issues and how they affect higher education (and thus, their education). I fielded questions and allowed any pushback. Then I "refused to teach" and allowed them to leave (they were pretty happy about that last part). So kind of a half walkout.

 

Most students, surprise surprise, didn't care much (most hadn't even ever seen the word adjunct before) but some came up afterwards and said they were glad to be made aware of the issue, which was comforting.

 

Anyone else take action today? Some good examples here: http://nationaladjunct.tumblr.com/page/2/

 

 

[ProfLorax]

Thanks IQ84. As a former adjunct, I appreciate the solidarity. I'm not teaching this semester, so I had no opportunity to walk out or teach in, but I did go to campus for a departmental meeting on graduate student issues. Some of us had drafted a statement about wanting more inclusion in the decision-making process at the departmental and university levels, and in that statement, we stated our support for National Adjunct Walkout Day and contingent faculty in general.

The women and gender studies TT faculty here at UMD took their furlough today in solidarity with NAWD. The statement they put out explaining their move is pretty awesome. I'd love to paste it here, but alas, I am on my phone with only one free hand.

[smg]

Thanks for posting about this. 

[1Q84]

The women and gender studies TT faculty here at UMD took their furlough today in solidarity with NAWD. The statement they put out explaining their move is pretty awesome. I'd love to paste it here, but alas, I am on my phone with only one free hand.

 

That's great! Would love to see it when you get a chance.

 

Sadly, my institution has not recognized it at all, from what I can see, which is a shame because I know some tenured faculty were very supportive of adjunct unionization attempts from last year. 

[1Q84]

If you're looking for some info to share with students, this article has some great statistics: http://www.salon.com/2014/02/16/the_wal_mart_ization_of_higher_education_how_young_professors_are_getting_screwed/

[BLeonard]

Thank you for posting about this; union solidarity is super important to me, as is the adjunct issue. I actually just signed up for more information about the union for student employees at my school this week. 

[1Q84]

Thank you for posting about this; union solidarity is super important to me, as is the adjunct issue. I actually just signed up for more information about the union for student employees at my school this week. 

 

Great to hear and best of luck to the movement at your school. I think national solidarity through awareness is so important in order to get the gears of progress turning.

 

I was bitterly disappointed by the intense opposition and campaign of intimidation that the administration waged against adjunct unionization at my school last year. I won't be here after this year but I'm hoping the existing adjuncts will regroup, strategize and launch another campaign soon.

[smg]

Folks might find this Chomsky piece interesting: http://www.alternet.org/corporate-accountability-and-workplace/chomsky-how-americas-great-university-system-getting

[ProfLorax]

I have two hands now!

 

"The faculty of UMD's Women's Studies department decided collectively to take February 25, National Adjunct Walkout Day, as a state furlough day.

We do so in solidarity with the academic labor concerns of non tenure track faculty across the nation and especially in solidarity with such faculty members on our campus and within our state system who would wish to participate in a walkout but are too vulnerable to do so. Most of these faculty members, many of whom are part-time, are contractual, often hired from semester to semester. Many non tenure track faculty members are instructors with responsibility for undergraduate instruction, while others conduct research, and still others share practical knowledge in public service outreach."

- See more at: http://wmst.umd.edu/#sthash.OWFqdh54.dpuf

[Wonton Soup]

The tri-college Auraria campus at Denver had a successful adjunct rally. Between 50-100 people showed up, and lots of media. 

 

If people want to learn more about the adjunct crisis in higher ed, or just higher ed political economy in general, check out these links.

 

http://seiufacultyforward.org/research-resources/

 

http://college-table.wgbh.org/college_local

 

http://www.studentimpactproject.org/state_report_cards

[jhefflol]

As someone who is facing the black hole that is adjuncting until I can get accepted into a PhD program, this is awesome. I wish I'd have known about this sooner, but at least I'll be aware for next year. Thanks for posting!