Maria Maisto writes...
Our colleagues at Baltimore City Community College report that there has been a mass firing of adjuncts at Baltimore City Community College with just a few weeks to go before classes start. We are still trying to get information about how extensive the firings were and the reasons behind them, but it appears that the official explanations are "credential checks" and reduced student enrollment by as much as 45%. It also appears that the targeted adjuncts are those who signed cards in support of unionizing with SEIU Local 500.
The Associate Dean of the English, Humanities, Visual and Performing Arts department, who authorized these firings and reassignments, has resigned effective August 1.
Adjuncts' classes are being reassigned to full-timers, none of whom are on tenurable contracts (there is no tenure at BCCC). It looks like the full-timers will be teaching as many as double the number of courses they usually teach -- and some of them don't even know it yet.
We are still trying to find out more and to provide more information as we get it. Please contact us if you have any information, and help us support our BCCC colleagues.
Maria Maisto
President, New Faculty Majority
Executive Director, NFM Foundation
maria.maisto@newfacultymajority.info
maria.maisto@nfmfoundation.org
Ph: (216) 262-4375
NFM Web: newfacultymajority.org
NFMF Web: nfmfoundation.org
President, New Faculty Majority
Executive Director, NFM Foundation
maria.maisto@newfacultymajority.info
maria.maisto@nfmfoundation.org
Ph: (216) 262-4375
NFM Web: newfacultymajority.org
NFMF Web: nfmfoundation.org
Of course you know http://www.imacc.org/adjunct.html
ReplyDeleteThanks... I collect such and am short on STEM ones. I'm not entirely sure what it has to do with the Baltimore City College situation unless in context of recent grant to promote STEM curricula preparing students for jobs in related areas.
DeleteDepressing.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, I've got another, less official post in drafts too but waiting to see if there are updates, reactions ~ even formulaic press releases ~ elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteIf adjuncts are felled in the forest but no one heard them fall, did it really happen? More invisibility. If this bunch is all but invisible, are others as well?
Another culprit is the new Dean of Liberal Arts who has been saying that MHEC requires instructors to have 18 credit hours to teach; however, MHEC, per comar title 13 does not stpulate a rule. BCCC is going down hill with the new academic leadership. They even hired a Dean who from within who was a poor instructor and lacked experiences but because of his relationship with his supervisor has risen to high ranks
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Were the adjuncts "independent contractors" with 1099s or were they part-time (W2) employees (both with no assurance for continuing contracts)? It may be that the IRS came down on the firm for falsifying SS8 and thus the "1099" employees were primarily targeted for the Reduction in Force?
ReplyDelete