Edward Gutman, a university labor representative, asks what could be done to improve the benefits of adjunct faculty.
Graduate students and adjunct faculty members from around the state met yesterday in a university system workgroup, and many demanded the right to unionize.
In their first workgroup meeting of the semester, representatives from university system institutions convened in Adelphi yesterday at an open forum designed to address the rights and treatment of graduate assistants and adjunct faculty members.
The most significant issue in their minds is the right to unionize, according to the forum’s attendants, which they say will grant them the ability to bargain for more rights and recognition as a group.
Adjunct faculty and graduate students are small in number and have long struggled to gain recognition from this university’s administration and from the university system.
“It would make a big difference if the right to collectively bargain is the decision of the workgroup,” said Graduate Student Government President Anupama Kothari, who is not serving as a member of the workgroup. “It would mean a big change for us. It would mean we finally have a voice. It would mean we don’t have to grovel to the university about things.”
Anna Bedford, a graduate assistant, said it’s important for the university system to have organized input from graduate assistants and adjunct faculty so administrators can understand their concerns and set priorities in their best interests.
University Provost Nariman Farvardin, who along with Bedford will represent this university on the workgroup for the duration of the semester, addressed the group’s concerns through the lens of the university’s strategic plan — a 10-year road map to becoming one of the nation’s top institutions).
Unionization isn’t the only alternative, he said, adding the strategic plan outlines many initiatives aimed at bettering graduate student and graduate assistant experiences.
Bedford said some issues extend beyond the university’s walls — she hopes to address standard of living for graduate assistants and adjunct faculty in the area.
Sabrina Baron, an adjunct faculty member in the history department, said what adjunct faculty members are paid is “not a living wage in this area.”
Kothari, who, as GSG president, lobbies the university administration for graduate student rights and concerns on the campus, said the decision of the workgroup will be important because there are many issues that administrators do not address.
“Stable and reliable support is essential to the life of graduate students, especially when we are facing economic crises, lack of affordable housing, fewer sources of grants, etc.,” Bedford added, in an e-mail sent earlier this week.
“It is also essential to the university because it needs to attract high-quality students or risk reduced quality of teaching and research, which will adversely affect its mission, ranking, reputation and quality,” she said.
The workgroup is made up of representatives from system member institutions, as well as representatives from Morgan State University, St. Mary’s College of Maryland and Baltimore City Community College.
According to the university system’s website, the workgroup will finalize its report by mid-October and deliver its findings and recommendations on Nov. 1.
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