Professors in the Gig Economy: Unionizing Adjunct Faculty in America

Synopsis

One Of The Most Significant Trends In American Higher Education Over The Last Decade Has Been The Shift In Faculty Employment From Tenured To Contingent. Now Upwards Of 75% Of Faculty Jobs Are Non-tenure Track; Two Decades Ago That Figure Was 25%. One Of The Results Of This Shift--along With The Related Degradation Of Pay, Benefits, And Working Conditions--has Been A New Push To Unionize Adjunct Professors, Spawning A National Labor Movement. Professors In The Gig Economy Is The First Book To Address The Causes, Processes, And Outcomes Of These Efforts. Kim Tolley Brings Together Scholars Of Education, Labor History, Economics, Religious Studies, And Law, All Of Whom Have Been Involved With Unionization At Public And Private Colleges And Universities. Their Essays And Case Studies Address The Following Questions: Why Have Colleges And Universities Come To Rely So Heavily On Contingent Faculty? How Have Federal And State Laws Influenced Efforts To Unionize? What Happens After Unionization--how Has Collective Bargaining Affected Institutional Policies, Shared Governance, And Relations Between Part-time And Full-time Faculty? And Finally, How Have Unionization Efforts Shaped The Teaching And Learning That Happens On Campus? Bringing Substantial Research And Historical Context To Bear On The Cost And Benefit Questions Of Contingent Labor On Campus, Professors In The Gig Economy Will Resonate With General Readers, Scholars, Students, Higher Education Professionals, And Faculty Interested In Unionization. Contributors: A. J. Angulo, Timothy Reese Cain, Elizabeth K. Davenport, Marianne Delaporte, Tom Depaola, Kristen Edwards, Luke Elliott-negri, Kim Geron, Lorenzo Giachetti, Shawn Gilmore, Adrianna Kezar, Joseph A. Mccartin, Gretchen M. Reevy, Gregory M. Saltzman, Kim Tolley, Nicholas M. Wertsch--,one Of The Most Significant Trends In American Higher Education Over The Last Decade Has Been The Shift In Faculty Employment From Tenured To Contingent. Now Upwards Of 75 Percent Of Faculty Jobs Are Non-tenure Track (it Had Been 25 Percent Two Decades Ago.) One Of The Results Of This Shift--along With The Related Degradation Of Pay, Benefits, And Working Conditions--has Been A New Push To Unionize Adjuncts. This Book Is The First Ever To Look At This Trend. This Edited Volume Brings Together Scholars Who Have Been Involved With These Efforts At Colleges And Universities. They Address The Context And Cause Of These Efforts. They Look At Various Efforts Across The Industry To Collectively Bargain, And They Consider The Results Of Those Efforts. Finally, The Authors Consider The Impact Of Those Unionization Efforts On Campus And On The Teaching And Learning That Happens There. Adjunct Higher Ed Brings Research And Case Studies To Bear On The Cost And Benefit Questions Of Contingent Labor On Campus--