Frequently Asked Questions about the Coalition for Contingent Faculty

Who are the contingent faculty?
All SUNY faculty who are not on a tenure track are contingent: mostly part-time academics and professionals with semester or annual contracts, as well as full-time lecturers with term contracts ranging from one to three years. UUP's use of “faculty” includes both academics and professionals.

What is the CCF?
The Coalition for Contingent Faculty (CCF) is a vibrant new advocacy and networking group within UUP. This grass-roots network of UUP members and fee payers emerged over the course of the Year of the Part-Timer, 2005–2006. CCF’s membership includes part-time and full-time contingent faculty represented by UUP, both academic and professional, as well as tenured folks advocating equity for their non-tenure track colleagues.

What does equity for contingent faculty mean?
CCF supports the principle of “Equal Pay for Equal Work.” Part-timers are currently being paid significantly less than full-timers are for their teaching. Most people agree with the basic concept of equity. Of course, the exact numbers and precise articulations of equity are the subjects of contractual negotiations.

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), with which the UUP is affiliated, has set forth the following basic principle of equity:

“Part-time/adjunct faculty should be paid a salary proportionate to that paid full-time faculty of the same qualifications for doing the same work. ...these standards are organized around the principle of pairing fully proportionate professional responsibilities with fully proportionate compensation.”

(Original emphasis; AFT Higher Education Program and Policy Council, William E. Scheuerman, Chair, Standards of Good Practice in the Employment of Part-Time/Adjunct Faculty: Fairness & Equity , Washington, DC, 2002. Section 1, “Curbing the Exploitation of Part-Time/Adjunct Faculty in Employment, Standards of Compensation,” page 8).

Why was a new group within UUP needed?
Though contingents account for about 8,000 of UUP's roughly 30,000 members, the tentative nature of our employment tends to give us less time to participate in union activities. And the union, by its own very nature, is composed of diverse interest groups on many campuses, some of which can conflict. For example, the equation of more full-time faculty with quality education can undermine the work of part-time faculty. Thus, the interests of contingent faculty risk being under-represented and overlooked, even though UUP tries to be responsive to all of its members. CCF is a way to help UUP do that, by encouraging input from contingents statewide in order to consolidate and strengthen our voice.

What are the CCF's immediate goals?
In particular, we are advocating:

What is wrong with the current system of having part-time salaries negotiated on individual campuses?
This system is beneficial primarily to management, which can allow local market forces to dictate the salaries it offers contingents, particularly part-time faculty. Under this system, local representation of part-time interests can be diffused by non-contingents, and the tentative job status of contingents themselves provides the weakest base from which to challenge their employers. A statewide salary minimum would alleviate these difficulties. Under the current Agreement between UUP and New York State, part-time professionals are paid proportionately, on the basis of statewide minima for full-time professionals. Part-time academics deserve the same under the next Agreement, to be negotiated this academic year.

What purpose would a step system serve?
Along with CCF's other goals, a step system would provide an option for legitimizing the careers of contingent faculty whose SUNY service extends beyond any given appointment period. It would be a way for such employees' official status to match the length and scope of their actual service. Though not all contingent faculty need or want such recognition, security, and support, a step system would help provide a mechanism for those who do. At the same time, the increased long-term integration of contingent faculty into their institutions would provide SUNY with many of the benefits usually attributed to tenure-track faculty only. A step system would benefit not just academic faculty but also professionals, who are now segregated in absolutely separate salary levels.

Do we need a separate union for contingents, as in some other states?
This is a subject of considerable debate throughout SUNY and across the entire country. From the start, the CCF has been committed to strengthening the contingents' voice within a unified UUP and not to creating a separate union for contingent faculty. Since UUP has a long-standing and largely successful record of negotiating with New York State—especially its achievement of health benefits for part-timers, still rare nationwide—a separate, brand-new union would take years to become effective. Although contingents comprise only a part of UUP's total membership, there is strength in numbers.

Why should I join the CCF in addition to UUP?
We need as strong a coalition as possible to work toward equity for all SUNY faculty, full-timers and part-timers! Although CCF's and UUP's missions are similar—improved working conditions for all members of the bargaining unit—CCF's focus on contingents can put you in touch with others across SUNY whose status is similar to yours. While particulars might vary considerably from campus to campus, the CCF offers an opportunity to share experiences and develop support systems beyond local departments and campuses. Joining CCF is absolutely free, there are no dues.

Should I join the UUP if I am already a member of CCF?
Absolutely! It is very important for contingents to join the Coalition for Contingent Faculty AND to sign up as members of UUP. All members of the bargaining unit are required to pay dues to the UUP, but only those who officially become members by signing a membership form may vote in UUP chapter elections, be elected as union officers, serve as delegates to statewide UUP assemblies or vote on ratifying any new contract. CCF strongly urges all adjuncts to become active members of the UUP and to fully participate in their chapter activities.

How do I join the CCF?
Fill out the form linked to this web site and send it to Anne Wiegard at wiegarda@cortland.edu.