The Adjunct Project

Hello everyone,

To maintain sanity on the listserv (and keep those who are just on for announcements from unsubscribing), I’d like to propose that we use this blog for sharing ideas and thoughts about upcoming furloughs, layoffs, and other timely issues affecting student-workers.

To this end, I am adding two comments below (one about the soup line protest, and a useful response to that from Sandor, an AP / CCU activist).

You can add your comments below and help get the ball rolling. In the meantime, we will research other, more forum-friendly ways to discuss rallies, protests and events.

Thanks!

Alison Powell

Co-Coordinator, The Adjunct Project

Share on Facebook

Join us for a discussion of the upcoming Professional Staff Congress contract with President Bowen and other principal officers:

When:  Tuesday April 6th  12:30 – 2pm

Where: Room 9205/06

Lunch will be served for the first 80 to arrive!

Please RSVP to rmcgarry@gc.cuny.edu.

As you may have heard, Barbara Bowen and other principal officers are visiting each campus this spring to listen to members’ thoughts about the next contract. We thought it would be a good idea to invite Pres. Bowen to visit the GC to speak with ALL those who WORK, TEACH, and STUDY here and are in the PSC’s bargaining unit.

This will be your chance to hear directly about the issues that have already emerged for the upcoming negotiations and to discuss your own concerns and ideas. Our current contract expires in October of 2010, and plans need to begin now in order to be prepared for negotiations.

Join in a discussion of the next round of bargaining: What should we expect from the City, State, and CUNY? What are our priorities? What can we do to build for a good settlement?

All PSCers are welcome!

Share on Facebook

Equity Week from October 26^th – 30^th, 2009

Next Adjunct Project Meeting on Fri, Oct 23, 2-4pm in room 5409.

Campus Equity Week is a national week of action to raise awareness on issues of fairness and quality of education. It occurs biennially and is co-sponsored by many labor rights organizations. For example:
http://www.aft.org/higher_ed/cew/index.htm
http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/issues/contingent/cewpage.htm
Equity Week provides an opportunity to discuss with our students the inequities that are growing at CUNY and how it impacts all of us, teachers and students alike.  It will coincide with major legislative decisions impacting all of our lives at CUNY, and will provide a chance for all us to be better informed about what is happening to our CUNY.

What can I do?

For some portion of a class (or all of a class!) during the week of October 26th – 30th, both adjuncts and full-time faculty will make a coordinated effort to incorporate information on the changes happening to CUNY, including adjunct teaching conditions and rising tuition costs, into class lessons.  This could include: 

• A class discussion
• A persuasive-letter writing exercise,
• A statistical analysis of adjunct and full-time wages for the same workload,
• An extra-credit assignment to find a link between course materials and adjunct labor.

Please consider bringing Equity Week to your classroom. If you don’t feel comfortable leading this discussion on your own, or want to find out more about Equity Week and adjunct activism, come to our next

Adjunct Project Meeting

Friday October 23, 2-4pm

in room 5409 at the Graduate Center

We have teaching materials available, as well as a colorful poster!! If you would like us to send you materials on a CD or the full-size color poster contact us at avette@gmx.net.

Share on Facebook

Please email theadjunctproject@gmail.com

Share on Facebook

Once again, many graduate assistants and adjuncts have not been paid for their appointment or reappointment due to a “high volume” of paperwork in payrolls across the CUNY system.  If you weren’t paid please take the following steps:

1. Look at whatever pay stub you have and figure out what school is paying you.
2. Once you know that, run (don’t walk or call) to the human resources department of that school.  At the Graduate Center, it’s on the 8th floor across from the Bursar’s Office.
3. Explain to them that you were not paid. Have your appointment letter and any other paperwork you filed. When they tell you that you won’t be paid until 10/8, calmly ask for an advance on your salary.
4. Write an email to the associate provost of your division (Dr. Louise Lennihan for the social sciences and humanities –llennihan@gc.cuny.edu and Dr. Ann Henderson for the sciences–ahenderson@gc.cuny.edu.) Explain who you spoke to in payroll, what they told you and the date you signed your appointment letter.
5. Let the Adjunct Project know. We’ve already notified the PSC of this problem but we’d like to know the number of people this has impacted.

Share on Facebook