Part-time professors unionize at community colleges
System's adjunct faculty vote to join state employees' association
By Matthew Stone mstone@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer
AUGUSTA -- Part-time adjunct professors at Maine's community colleges opted to unionize Monday, voting 264-96 in favor of affiliating with the Maine State Employees Association.
Adjunct professors teach about 60 percent of classes in the Maine Community College System, according to the union. The union chapter, Local 1989 of the Service Employees International Union, will count 800 adjunct professors as members.
"We simply want what is in the best interest of our students," Mark Dion, an adjunct professor at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland, said in a statement. "We need to be treated as equals with the same support and resources full-time faculty enjoy."
Adjunct professors are currently entitled to no benefits, said Mike Sylvester, the Maine State Employees Association's organizing director. But with the unionization vote behind them, he said, the adjunct faculty members will turn their attention to negotiating their first collective-bargaining agreement.
That'll involve surveying all the union members "to get ready to sit down at the table with the community college," Sylvester said.
Maine Community College System officials declined comment on the unionization vote. But the system released a statement that said it "respects" the vote's outcome and the Maine Labor Relation Board's determination that adjunct faculty members are eligible to form a union.
"Over 90 percent of full-time employees with the MCCS are unionized," the statement read. "The MCCS has positive and long-standing relationships with the unions that represent them. We anticipate and look forward to a similar relationship with this new unit."
The community college system -- with seven campuses -- has seen its enrollment grow quickly in recent years, to its current level of about 16,000 students.
Matthew Stone -- 623-3811, ext. 435
mstone@centralmaine.com
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9 COMMENTS
Govt2Big said...
If the part-time professors are smart, they'll keep a very close eye on the accounting practices at SEIU Local 1989. In particular, they should watch for the use of wrong billing codes to further inflate the so-called "fair share fees" and the organization's overall lack of written accountability/proof for their expense claims... remember, SEIU has close ties with ACORN.
May 4, 2010 at 6:03 AM Report abuse
egay said...
ACORN disbanded in March.
May 4, 2010 at 7:03 AM Report abuse
Govt2Big said...
The Far-Left's political machine in Maine is about to get larger and more powerful with this new client for SEIU.
May 4, 2010 at 7:04 AM Report abuse
1wouldthink said...
ACORN may have been "disbanded" but they are reorganized under new names with the same old tactics. You can bet your bottom dollar on that, all that "free money" is not gonna slip away from community organizing efforts. Stay tuned.
May 4, 2010 at 8:44 AM Report abuse
Taxpayer said...
Fools. SEIU is in it for the money. The more that join the bigger their coffers. SEIU does everything in favor of management and nothing in favor of the employees who pay their fees. Ask a state employee how well the union bargins for their contracts.
May 4, 2010 at 9:44 AM Report abuse
LizieD said...
Good for them! They need a union, and the SEIU is an excellent one to join. I belonged to it years ago when I was a state employee, and my husband is a 20+ year member.
May 4, 2010 at 11:46 AM Report abuse
Govt2Big said...
LizieD, you and your husband should read the article at http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Unions-gave-ACORN-nearly-10-million--50390017.html
May 4, 2010 at 12:00 PM Report abuse
GILRICH said...
"We want what is in the best interest of our students" REALLY - what hypocrits - it has nothing to with students - it is all about the adjunct's personal benefits
May 4, 2010 at 12:47 PM Report abuse
unionman2 said...
I guess that teachers should work for free and only be interested in students education. Heck they don't spend money at local stores, right. The fact is that the adjunct professors provide much needed services to the Maine Community College System that allows a wider variety of courses to be offered. They are an important part of the Maine Community College System and should be treated fairly. The reason they unionized is because they are not being treated fairly.
May 5, 2010 at 1:59 PM Report abuse