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Adjunct faculty at Hamline University in St. Paul have reached a tentative agreement on a historic first union contract, workers announced Thursday.
The agreement, called a victory for both faculty and students, will help promote stability through substantial wage increases and a new professional development fund, they said.
The agreement was reached late Wednesday night after more than a year of bargaining. After going 10 years without a raise, adjuncts voted overwhelmingly to form their union with Service Employees International Union Local 284 in June 2014.
Highlights of the two-year, tentative agreement include:
- Raises for all adjunct faculty. A majority will receive a 15% increase in the first year and base pay will increase by 20% by the 2017-2018 fiscal year.
- Additional compensation for adjuncts with their terminal degree and length of service will increase base pay in the first year by 25% and by 30% in fiscal year 2017-2018.
- Establishment of a professional development fund.
- Adjunct faculty will receive much earlier notice of courses they will teach, and will be compensated for work if there is a last minute cancellation. Additionally, they will have the first right of refusal to teach a course they design or be compensated for the curriculum.
- Establishment of a Union/University Collaboration Committee (otherwise known as a Labor Management Committee)
Adjunct faculty on the bargaining team praised the contract as a strong step forward to improving Hamline for adjuncts, students and the whole Hamline community.
“Teaching is my passion, which is why I joined the fight to win this first contract that makes Hamline stronger for both adjunct faculty and our students,” said Mark Felton, an adjunct in the business school who has taught at various higher education institutions in Minnesota for more than 10 years.
“Increasing wages after all these years, establishing a professional development fund and crafting a system where adjuncts have advance notice of when we will teach courses will all help to create an environment where we have the capacity to do what we love to do, which is spend time with and teach our students. We always believed we could reach an agreement that moves everyone forward, and we are proud that we came together and made this contract a reality.”
Della Zurick, a Hamline adjunct who teaches political theory and is a member of the bargaining team, shared that her love of her students got her involved in the campaign and why their support helped to make the contract a reality.
“I teach my students about standing up for their convictions, and feel strongly that this contract does just that for Hamline adjuncts who have fought so hard for what is best for both faculty and students,” said Zurick.
Adjunct faculty in the bargaining unit will vote in early 2016 on ratification of the agreement, which would then go into effect for the spring semester, the union said.