Inside Higher Ed: At gathering of higher ed unions, sessions on bargaining for those off the tenure track draw packed houses — and include signs of progress
For some time now, large gatherings of faculty members have included a session about adjuncts. Those frustrated at being kept off of the tenure track would hear the latest data on the shrinking pool of tenure-track jobs and attendees would trade horror stories about the use and abuse of part-timers. And then the meeting would get back to its regular agenda.
Things were notably different at the joint meeting this weekend in Orlando of the higher education members of the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association. First, the state of adjunct faculty members has become central enough that it is no longer a sideshow — sessions on adjunct issues were plentiful enough during the meeting that an attendee could decide to discuss nothing else. Many of the sessions were packed. To be sure, there were plenty of horror stories being traded. But speaker after speaker cited real progress — and the union leaders were trading ideas and not just gripes.
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