Well, there's all kinds of good news this week -- Prof. Curtis Keyes with the adjuncts at EWU reports that he and his colleagues have gained the victory they so richly deserve! The illegality of their abrupt firing at a time when they were petitioning to organize a union was upheld by the U.S. Labor Dept. and the EWU administration has agreed to reinstate them, compensate those who lost classes mid-semester and has agreed to bargain with them in what all hope will be good faith.
On another note, the non-tenured faculty at Michigan's CMU won yet another major victory -- they voted overwhelmingly in support of forming a union! So, it's on to the bargaining table for them!
Congratulations to all; both victories are so well-deserved, and a great sign for adjunct unionization efforts across the board.
On that cheerful note, "The Adjunct Voice" is going on indefinite hiatus. Between four Comp classes and two writing projects with deadlines looming, I find I have to get realistic. Union or no union, I haven't found a way to grade multiple drafts of 4+ papers per semester for 80 students without putting in monstrously long hours. Anyone have any ideas?
If you've been following my efforts here, thanks! I would especially like to thank Vanessa Vaile for spreading the messages I've posted here to NFM's larger network and beyond. It's been an incredible summer for adjunct faculty issues, and I'm so happy to have good news to relate on my way out the (virtual) door!
Last one out turn out the lights!!
