New Majority Faculty Day

When I first arrived to teach at CSUMB I was a lecturer--a "contingent" faculty member whose employment was temporary and based on what the university needed in a given semester. This tenuous relationship I had with CSUMB had nothing to do with my interest in the curriculum, the students, the CSUMB vision or my own desire to be a professor. It was a labor arrangement convenient to the university and a low cost one at that. Now that I am a tenured full time faculty member, my relationship to the university is quite different--less contingent, more job security, and more under my own control to some degree. Given the budget mess in California, however, I have come to realize that may be my own self-deception. But I digress from my point.

Nearly half of all faculty now are NOT full-time, but contingent, part-time, temporary employees. Today, University of California faculty who fit that description are holding a "New Faculty Majority Day," teaching their classes outside (to promote visibility of their status, I imagine) and to raise awareness of this situation. This is, of course, risky. They are not protected by tenure and many are hired on a semester by semester basis. With cuts to budgets, these faculty are the first to go. I remember that stress.

So today I want to stand in solidarity with my faculty colleagues who do not have the job security or institutional respect that I enjoy as a tenured full-time faculty member. I am not in your position so I cannot stand in your shoes. I was there once, which gives me some perspective on the matter, but I am not the same. So, I can be an ally. In these days of the corporatization of the university, faculty are increasingly becoming the underemployed--the temporary workers who allow the university to function at a lower cost to the bottom line. We need to re-prioritize. Students are not products to be shaped nor do I think they are consumers in the sense of the word we use everyday. They are not buying our services as if they are going to the mall. They are changing their lives and investing in their future. Moreover, they deserve to be mentored by faculty in whom universities invest, respect, and support. And, those faculty deserve decent, equitable and more consistent opportunity.

So, here's my part to call attention to this issue and stand with my colleagues in support. And, it's a chance to post "Solidarity Forever!" as well... Here's Pete Seger's famous version: