Albany

Adjunct faculty at The College of Saint Rose voted 175-61 to form a union, the Service Employees International Union announced Monday.

"It's really incredible to see how decisively we've won this," adjunct professor and union organizer Bradley Russell said of the victory and 80 percent turnout. "It made it really, really clear that the time for change is here."

The adjuncts, who teach 30 percent of the school's classes, will be represented by SEIU Local 200United through Adjunct Action, a project of the parent union that represents 21,000 adjuncts around the nation.

Saint Rose President Carolyn Stefanco hopes to work collaboratively with the SEIU on the issues raised by the adjunct faculty, Saint Rose said in a statement after the announcement of the tally in the mail-in balloting.

The college said it "has respect for the negotiating process" and currently works with two unions.

There is no set date for contract negotiations, Russell said.

"We trust that this is the beginning of a collective bargaining process that will move us into a positive new day for the college," he said, and thanked full-time faculty and community leaders for their support in the drive.

Fred Kowal, president of United University Professions, which represents faculty and staff for the State University of New York, said the victory at Saint Rose is part of a trend of unions seeing an opportunity to organize on the issues of pay equity, job security and health insurance.

Russell said he earns $2,400 for a three-credit hour course at Saint Rose and that he is one of 309 adjunct faculty.

Saint Rose adjuncts can earn up to $6,400 per semester — a total of eight credit hours, the maximum the school allows — and thus $12,800 per year, Russell said, adding that most adjuncts try to teach at more than one school to make up for the pay deficit, Russell added.

Full-time professors teach 70 percent of the courses at Saint Rose.

Nationally, professors at four-year schools earn on average $97,784 per year, according to the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources.

The American Federation of Teachers, which represents some 70,000 adjuncts, said these workers have increasingly turned to the AFT for help.

"There's a movement growing across the country to address the increasing income inequality — by fighting for low-wage workers, including adjunct faculty members," the union said in a statement about the Saint Rose vote.

Unions like SEIU, not specifically dedicated to higher education, are moving into the market and helping teachers looking for support in collective bargaining, Kowal said.

bhorn@timesunion.com • 518-454-5097 • @brittanyhorn