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Illinois State Hearings
on
Adjunct Faculty Issues
Thank You...Thank You...Thank You !
The Illinois State Hearings on October 25th went exceedingly well.
First,
we would like to profusely and repeatedly thank the following people
for helping to create this successful event. So, THANK
YOU to:
Everyone
who attended the hearings ... for coming out on a blustery, bone-chilling
day to express their interest in vital issues of higher education.
We especially thank our supporters, neighbors, colleagues, and friends,
who, by their presence, showed that concern about higher education
runs deep among Illinois citizens.
Senators Cronin, Dillard, and Roskam
for making time in their schedule and for coordinating this event,
for their undivided attention during witness testimony, and for
their willingness to look into an issue that deeply concerns many
constituents.
President Michael Murphy and College of DuPage
for providing a venue for this important event, and for the insightful
opening remarks.
(
Full-time ) Faculty Senate for their staunch, unwavering
support of their part-time colleagues.
Faculty Senate President Chuck Boone
for his continued support, assistance and eloquent testimony.
Donna Manering, Tom Surhbur, and all at IEA /
NEA for their constant support throughout our struggle.
Speakers and Witnesses:
President Murphy, Donna Manering, Barbara Dayton, Oleh Sydor, Chuck
Boone, Vicki Root, Larry Price, Tom Suhrbur, Katherine Shannon of
IFT, Bob Tarsitano, and Mike Monaghan - for the time and effort
preparing and delivering their testimony, and for the impassioned
and eloquent oratory that visibly moved all who were present.
Remember, this is not over ! We need to maintain the momentum by
calling / writing our local senators, senators on the Rules and
Education Committees. We need to contact as many of our friends
and neighbors as we can and urge them to do likewise.
Senator Cronin mentioned that HB 1720 will be appearing in the Spring
session of the Senate ( January - May ), so continued interest from
the voters, is imperative to pass this important bill.
Summary
The hearing began with an introduction from Senator Dan Cronin,
followed by an introduction from Senator Kirk Dillard. President
Michael Murphy gave some opening remarks, concentrating on the importance
of adjunct instructors to the growth and success of colleges statewide.
Donna Manering of IEA stressed the importance of the hearings. Senator
Cronin then called <http://www.codaa.org/10-25speakers.htm>the
witnesses to testify.
The testimony was followed by a brief question-and-answer period.
Diane Rzeszewski of CODAA mentioned that faculty compensation may
total up to 75% of an institution's expenditures. Several of the
senators seemed concerned about the cost to the state of a major
pay raise for large groups of adjuncts.
Upon hearing this, <mailto:joeberry@igc.org>Joe Berry of COCAL-Chicago
responded that raising pay for adjuncts, as well as promoting adjuncts
to full-time status, actually provides for more efficiency in expenditures.
He also emphasized that there are many hidden costs incurred in
keeping a large contingent of adjuncts at low pay, which administrators
generally do not discuss publicly.
Larry Price also brought up an important point: adjuncts are the
backbone of most colleges statewide, and thus should not be subsidizing
the school's financial health through our deplorably low incomes.
If schools are financially solvent enough to invest in multi-million
dollar building schemes and massive purchases of technology, they
should be able to find a way to pay us equitable wages.
We were a bit surprised that there was no strong testimony opposing
HB 1720. We hope that this bodes well for the future, although it
may have other implications...The administrators of schools who
rely on Harper to continue their adjunct labor practices, may have
realized that publicly opposing the passage of HB 1720 is unpopular.
Instead, there may very well be movement behind the scenes, to ensure
that the Harper ruling remains in place. We must be vigilant, and
we must keep up momentum - maintain contact with our representatives
in the Illinois Senate to make sure that HB 1720, is passed.
Upon conclusion of the hearings, many of the full-time and part-time
faculty present, proceeded to Butterfield's Pancake House / Restaurant
for the All-Faculty Social. After an exhilarating day of politics,
it was nice to unwind with colleagues and munch on scrumptious appetizers.
We hope we can do this again soon.
Testimony
We hope to have all the speeches available at
<<www.codaa.org/10-25speakers.htm>>
soon
for you to peruse.
Huh ? What ?
If you have not been keeping up with the hearings, and are wondering
what all the fuss is about, <<http://www.codaa.org/bigchance.htm>>
has an explanation.
<<www.codaa.org>>
Contact:
Joe
Berry, (312) 733-2172, <<joeberry@igc.org>>
1453 W. Flournoy, #3F
Chicago, IL 60607
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