Seth Freeman, President of the Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges (4Cs) Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 1973, appeared on the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed the increased use of part-time faculty by community colleges and its impact on public higher education.
The 4Cs SEIU Local 1973 represents over 4,000 higher education employees in Connecticut.
In Connecticut’s community colleges, over 75 percent of the teaching faculty are adjunct faculty, Freeman said. He explained how the transition from a majority full-time teaching staff to a majority part-time staff three decades ago affected the quality of professor pay and benefits, along with the quality of education and amount of attention the students receive.
Freeman then discussed the fight by the 4Cs SEIU against the planned removal of faculty department chairs following the consolidation of 12 Connecticut community colleges into a statewide community college named Connecticut State Community College.
He also talked about recent contract negotiations, as the Local won job security for full-time staff members affected by the merger.
Listen to the entire episode to learn more about these topics.