That Was Then…

 

·           For nine years, or so I’ve been told, CCC adjuncts did not get a pay raise. Then, when President Della Vecchia took office, she raised adjunct pay $50/three credit course to $1025.

 

·           She also told the adjunct community that rather than giving preference to adjuncts in hiring, she preferred hiring people who were out working in their fields rather than teaching at the college.

 

·           Adjuncts had no expectation of being rehired no matter how long they had taught at the college and could be fired at any time without being given a reason.

 

·           They were not entitled to personal days, no matter how long they had been at the College.

 

·           Administrative decisions about changes in working conditions were made independent of how these decisions would affect the contingent faculty.

 

·           Adjuncts had no specified rights to their own intellectual property. There was no guarantee that if we created something, we would own it.

 

·           There was no union, no collective bargaining organization. Without a union, there was no expectation that things would be any different today.

This is Now!

 This school year, the CCCAFF celebrates its tenth anniversary. A lot has happened in ten years:

·           We have had regular negotiated pay raises. At the end of our present contract, we will be making $1950/ three credit course. DO THE MATH.

 

·           Most of the new faculty hires are people who have adjuncted at either CCC or another academic institution. They are respected for their experience in the classroom rather than rejected for it.

 

·           Adjuncts with twenty and thirty semesters of service are given preference in course selection for the next semester.

 

·           Adjuncts are permitted and encouraged to have a union representative present in their dealings with the college administration.

 

·           After four semesters, adjuncts have one personal day/semester. After twenty semesters of service, they get two personal days/semester.

 

·           Changes in working conditions are always a matter for negotiations between the College and the CCCAFF.

 

·           By contract, adjuncts own their own intellectual property unless the College has contributed heavily to its development.

 

 WHAT A DIFFERENCE A UNION MAKES!

THIS ‘N THAT

*Sheree Alexander of the Reading/Writing Department, is an inspiring adjunct who deserves congratulations for being awarded the Camden County Freedom Medal in a recent ceremony.  She says it’s the highlight of her career.  The Freedom Medal is awarded to extraordinary citizens of Camden County who have unselfishly contributed their time and effort to better their community and continue Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream of bringing people together.

*Congratulations to Mary Krebs, a very energetic adjunct at the inner-city campus in the Reading/Writing Department. She has published the second in a series of articles for Inside Higher Ed ( www.insidehighered.com) about teaching Basic Writing.  Mary taught her first course last Fall and teaches on her lunch break from her job at Rutgers. 

*Condolences to the family of Donald T. Mason, a long time adjunct with the English Department who taught on the inner-city campus.  He will be missed by his colleagues and many grateful students.

*The winner of our February $50 drawing is Donald Bailey, a full voting member who teaches Applied Calculus on the Blackwood campus.

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CCCAFF Website

Check our website at www.ccc-aft.org for timely information on topics of interest to adjuncts.  The following links are just some of the  informative sites you’ll find at our website.

·           Adjunct Advisor - CCCAFF Newsletter

·          CCCAFF  Officers

·          AFT Medicare Interactive Site

·          AFT Plus Member Benefits

·          Adjunct Advocate on-line magazine

·          Camden County College E-library

·          Web Advisor for grades and class lists

·          N.J. Higher-ed job openings database

·          Chronicle of Higher Education

·          ETS scoring opportunities

 

Do you have ideas on additional links we should add to your website?  We welcome your feedback and comments.  If you have any suggestions or comments about our website, send them to Irene Schiller at  irene@northlab.com.