crossposted from
unbossed
If you come from a poor or even middle class family the answer is increasingly likely to be: Yes. It is estimated that about 60% of students are now being taught by contingent academics.
But what's wrong with that, you might ask. It keeps costs low and makes education available to more of us. And, in this time of state budgets being squeezed by low tax policies, what other choice is there?
The big news in academia is its conversion to a business model of operation. Whether for this or other reasons, academia - as with many businesses in the United States - is using contingent workers to produce its "product" at an attractive price to the "customer." These temps include adjuncts and graduate teaching fellows or assistants.
Or is it the same? It can be argued - and when graduate student employees have tried to organize, management - that is, the administration of educational institutions - has argued that academia is not like a business and that what graduate students do is not work but, rather, is part of an apprenticeship through which they learn the skills of their profession.
Indeed, academia is both the same and different from other business, and the Academy's use of contingent workers is both the same as and different from the use of contingent workers elsewhere. Those differences can be captured in how and why an educational institution uses contingents: as part of a low road or high road strategy, both of which can exist within one institution at the same time.
The low road strategy resembles that of most business. In this model, contingent workers are used because they are low cost, low commitment, disposable workers. They can be hired with no obligation to pay benefits or to provide the support, infrastructure or facilities given to regular academics. Work in one term creates no commitment for work in any future term. Contingents can be added when course enrolment is high and shed when it is not. In the worst case scenario, contingent academics could be used as part of a strategy to erode tenure and conditions for all academics. With the use of contingents now at 60% in some institutions, this is no idle concern.
The high road strategy is intended to build the institution. Teaching provides apprenticeships for graduate students, giving them training in the mysteries and crafts of an ancient profession. It can be used to bring a superstar to campus. For example, a former president could give a series of lectures or workshops or to teach a short or regular course. It can provide flexibility to meet emergency or temporary needs or to provide students with access to teachers with special skills or knowledge. These contingent academics may enjoy sharing what they know and receive great emotional satisfaction as a result. They may do this only occasionally as a sabbatical from a high status job.
Clearly they could use a union, but there are many reasons -- legal and practical why this is difficult. Here are some of the practical reasons.
Although law clearly presents barriers to organization, so too do practical considerations. These are not necessarily unique to contingent academics, except, perhaps, by degree of impact. Many contingent academics try to construct a teaching career together from miscellaneous classes at more than one institution. This places a time and effort burden on contingent academics not faced by regular faculty. For contingent academics, every term can involve the multiple "first day on the job" experiences as they learn different procedures for each institution, and this can take an enormous amount of time. They may not have access to an office, telephone, computer, printer, photocopy machine, clerical help, and a whole array of institutional support that regular faculty have. Finally, there is the time entailed in getting from one place to another - the Freeway Flyer phenomenon. The pay offered is generally so low that to make this a career may well mean teaching too many courses. Add to this the time and effort contingent faculty must expend each term to ensure they get courses for the next term, and the next. All this is time stolen from keeping current, writing, researching and doing the things necessary to build a career and make it possible to move into a regular position.
There is a personal side to work as a contingent academic's life that plays into issues of organizing. Being on a perpetual job search imposes an enormous emotional toll. It means always being on probation, never being able to relax into a job, and putting oneself in a position where rejection is likely. Add the lack of support infrastructure, and this sends a strong message that this person and this work is not valued. Many implications flow from this, but an important one for unionizing is that contingent academics may be too overworked to find the time to organize.
It also means that contingent academics may lack a sense of commonality with regular faculty, and the regular faculty may not want to identify with the contingent academics. They may not understand the pressures each faces and may not see where and how their interests intersect. Chances are they do not even know one another, and have no opportunity to meet and learn about each others' concerns.
What does this mean for union representation?
Trying to organize any workforce that is overworked, demoralized and lacking in support from its peers is not an easy task in any setting. There is nothing about academia that makes it any easier.
next - Why the issue of contingent academics is a class war matter.