EDITORIAL: CMU pulls through for UTF with contract proposal, still room for improvement
The resolution is not perfect, but the Union of Teaching Faculty should be proud of the contract proposal advanced by the university to appease members' demands.
UTF has a chance on Thursday to approve terms which took months to come to fruition — terms that would result in better pay and benefits to improve quality of life for adjunct faculty at CMU.
The average temporary faculty member has worked at CMU for six years. They are the biggest unit of teachers on campus and teach more classes than any other faculty group.
When UTF first approached university administrators in January, it pushed for better salaries, job security, benefits, professional development, governance and respect for its 340 members. Temporary faculty were compensated with salaries that forced some to go on welfare, take second jobs or live with roommates to decrease rent.
UTF protestors said it was difficult to choose quality textbooks, plan challenging assignments and class exercises, and gather teaching resources and materials to prepare for the school year when they were not even sure if they would have a job for the semester. Summers were spent balancing between hope and anxiety.
Protestors have watched CMU hire new administrators with competitive salary and benefits packages for years while simultaneously being told there was not enough money to cover basic cost-of-living increases. It is, frankly, about time the two parties reach a tentative agreement.
Multiple protests were coordinated by non-tenure-track faculty who felt betrayed by the university for hiring a new president for $350,000 plus a $50,000 signing bonus, a new provost for $253,000 and College of Medicine deans for $1.37 million while claiming they did not have the money to bring CMU’s lowest-paid professors above the national poverty line.
UTF members saw CMU admit a record-breaking freshman class and generate record revenues and assets, but were offered a zero-percent cost-of-living wage increase for 2011-12.
They had enough, fought and now CMU’s 340 temporary faculty members have received the response they were hoping for — support from the university. The salary structure provides increases in several different days and focuses on the lowest-paid temporary faculty members.
When layoffs are necessary, “Lecturer Is” will be laid off before “Lecturer IIs,” which are new titles that will determine promotions, salary and benefit packages. Lecturer IIs won long-term disability coverage and protections against increased premium costs, protected the existing tuition subsidy and have earned representation within departments and on relevant campus committees.
University administrators should continue to support UTF and the needs of its members to improve research opportunities and professional development. Improving the employment conditions of the largest faculty group on campus can only have beneficial effects on the learning quality and experience of CMU students and those responsible for their success.
