Karina Gonzalez
Steve MushaAFT Luncheon2-2-2-2
Adjunct faculty teaching in 12 to 15 hour disciplines will receive an additional 2 million dollars into their salary from the Los Angeles Community College District in the 2007-2008 semester.
Carl Friedlander, president of local AFT 1521, gave the announcement as the principal speaker at the monthly chapter meeting for the Pierce Faculty Guild. AFT is the exclusive bargaining agent for full-time and part-time and faculty working in the nine colleges of the Los Angeles Community College District, and The Pierce Faculty Guild is one of ten faculty chapters which make up the AFT College Guild, Local 1521.
According to Friedlander, the decision was reached by an executive board of the American Federation of Teachers(AFT) so that 12 and 15 hour adjunct professors could move toward a pro-rata percentage already enjoyed by adjunct faculty teaching 18 hour disciplines.
Friedlander, using a white handout, he explained that an adjunct professor who teaches 12 load disciplines earns roughly $40,000 while a full-time professor who teaches the same load earns roughly $70,000. An adjunct professor who teaches a 15 load discipline earns roughly $50,000 compared to the full-time salary of $70,000. The 18 load discipline earns about $60,000 compared to the full-time salary of $70,000. It should be added that the full-time faculty load also assumes other responsibilities like being on committees and counseling students during office hours.
The 2 million dollars will not be applied toward adjunct faculty who teach 18 hour disciplines such as nursing, agricultural and physical education departments.
The 2 million dollars in equity money will be applied in the form of an additional equity differential.
“Part-timers do a lot of work,” Professor Steve McHargue of the history department said.He said that the extra two million for the adjunct faculty was fair.
“It’s an educational challenge explaining to our own listeners,” Friedlander said. Some of the faculty members who attended the luncheon were baffled by the complex orange handout that broke down all the calculations into different rows and columns. This is the first talk he has given regarding the extra two million. As president of the local AFT 1521, his responsibility is to oversee work of unions at district colleges.
The extra two million dollars is in addition to an across the board 4.6 percent salary increase for all part-time and full-time schedules which is supposed to be effective by July 1st.
Chancellor Drummond was supposed to attend but rescheduled to speak in February. -30-