By Gillian Adkins
Dominican has twice as many adjunct faculty members as full-time faculty members. This has become a common trend for many universities across the country.
The American Federation for Teachers stated that, “nearly 25% of adjunct faculty members rely on public assistance, and 40% struggle to cover basic household expenses.”
Since 2018, there has been a 26% increase in the number of adjunct faculty teaching at Dominican. Meanwhile, full time faculty has decreased by 12%.
With this increase, adjunct professors are teaching more classes while reaping less benefits. Adjunct faculty at nearby colleges such as Columbia College Chicago are currently striking for better treatment.
Nov. 6 marked the second week of the Columbia faculty union (CFAC) strike at the college.
Adjunct professors are striking after the college announced their plan to cut 350 course sections in the fall and spring semesters. Diana Vallera, president of CFAC, said adjunct professors make up around two-thirds of the Columbia’s faculty.
The CFAC says these course cuts will negatively impact adjunct professors, Columbia’s primary source of labor, while they balance less opportunities to make money and increases in class sizes.
Columbia junior Alex Puntos was worried after seeing that a lot of mandatory classes were stricken from course selections.
“I was looking forward to a lot of Columbia core experience classes only to see they were stricken from the catalog,” he said. “Classes like Abnormal Psychology or Advanced Gaming Development were also completely gone. A lot of people are worried about not graduating on time because of the class cuts.”
Columbia sophomore Carolina Ortiz was disappointed by the school’s actions.
“My professor [Diana Vallera] says the school used to be something great, but right now it is wasting students’ money and time,” she said.
Professors at Dominican are also following the strike closely.
Liesl Orenic, professor of history, used to be head of a labor union for adjunct professors at Roosevelt University from 1999 to 2002. She also worked for the Illinois Education Association as the higher education organizer from 2001 to 2002.
“Columbia needs to come to the table and bargain in good faith,” she said. “The strike is an expression of people’s frustration with how people are treating them.”
Although there is no union for adjunct faculty at Dominican, Orenic says it would be great if there was one.
John Menet teaches history as a part-time adjunct at both Dominican and Columbia.
At Columbia, Menet is a part of the CFAC and voted for the strike. He said the union’s decision to strike is attacking the most valuable part of the university considering adjuncts make up 66% of the faculty.
“I do not like the strike. Teachers want to teach, and I am losing time I could be spending with my students,” said Menet. “I am not getting paid, and they are not getting educated. It is a certain risk and financial sacrifice. I think we could not have done anything else. The administration needs to negotiate. Students are paying a lot for tuition, but as a union member, I will never cross a picket line. I think at some point working people are tired.”
Menet says that there is always a need for adjunct professors to unionize, but he would be happy to see adjuncts at Dominican unionize.
Although Dominican has treated him fairly, he says a union is important because it will always back you up and ensure you are receiving the treatment you deserve.
Being an adjunct professor comes with a sense of uncertainty because of how classes vary by semester. Orenic wants to consider the intellectual and emotional cost of adjuncting.
“With any kind of job that has that level of precarity, there is a human cost to that and it is a common cost,” she said.
These pushes for better treatment of adjuncts represent a new wave in unionization in America.
Orenic noted 88% of Americans under 30 support unionization.
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