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Copyright © 2015 Albuquerque Journal

About three dozen CNM part-time instructors and supporters joined other adjuncts from coast to coast Wednesday in a “walkout” to protest working conditions they deem unfair and detrimental to higher education.

The adjuncts – part-time college teachers – carried placards outside Central New Mexico Community College for about two hours in solidarity with National Walkout Day. Messages on the signs included such statements as “Security, Seniority, Respect” and “Adjuncts deserve a living wage too!”

Seamus O’Sullivan, who teaches sociology and political science, described the event as more of a “public rally” than walkout. He and others returned to campus when their classes or office hours began.

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All agreed, however, that working conditions for adjuncts at CNM – and nationwide – are far from ideal.

“I have a Ph.D., taught there for over eight years (and) watched my classes get reduced right down to zero,” said Benay Blend, a protest leader. “No job security. No recourse over ‘no classes for you next semester.’ Low pay. Before that, I had many years’ teaching experience, as well as many professional publications,” she said. “None of this really matters in higher ed these days. So we (are) standing for adjuncts across the country, for students who also suffer under these conditions, as well as all low-wage workers fighting for a living wage.”

Sydney Gunthorpe, CNM’s vice president of academic affairs, said the college not only values its part-time faculty members, but also has great respect for their work.

Specifically, adjuncts at CNM complain that:

⋄ Job contracts last for one semester with no guarantee of continued employment.

⋄ Compensation rates have no bearing on experience. Adjuncts receive the same pay as others with the same academic degree, regardless of the length of time – often years – spent teaching at CNM.

⋄ Compensation for adjuncts is based on the number of hours spent in the classroom and one office hour per week per course. It does not cover time spent on lesson planning, preparation, course management and grading papers. Moreover, the single hour of office time can be insufficient.

⋄ Although adjuncts are encouraged to take part in committee work, they usually do so without pay. Full-timers are required to do committee or “college service” work, but are paid for at least some of it.

⋄ The “part-time” designation is often erroneous and may be unrelated to an instructor’s actual workload. In most cases, part-timers are paid less per course than full-timers.

According to CNM’s website, the average adjunct pay for a three-unit course is $2,561. While not a direct comparison, the average salary for a two-term, full-time faculty member is $50,834 per year. That rises to $66,354 for a three-term faculty member.

“CNM has made concerted efforts to ensure that our part-time faculty pay is competitive,” Gunthorpe said, adding that CNM’s pay rate and benefits package exceed those of other community colleges in the Mountain states.