Barely two weeks before the fall semester at Triton College was scheduled to begin at the end of August, deans were notified that 21 adjunct faculty would either have their total teaching hours reduced or not be allowed to teach at all. They were being penalized for teaching over 10 credits during the Fall ’06 and Spring ’07 semesters, or over six credits during the Summer ’07 semester. As the coordinator of the freshman orientation courses, I found myself without instructors for eight sections, with very little time to find replacements. Two of the three instructors I lost had worked at Triton College for 10-20 years, at least. We were all in shock and confused as to why adjuncts were not allowed to teach in this area as well as other departments on Triton’s campus. I e-mailed five administrators to ask for an explanation, but no one responded.
The adjunct faculty union had negotiated a contract that would keep adjuncts from teaching more than 10 credits in both fall and spring semesters, and six credits in the summer. This 10-10-6 clause was approved along with the rest of the contract as of February 2007. Someone in the administration decided to tally the hours adjuncts worked going back to Fall 2006 when there was no contract! (I’m not sure that is even legal.) Adjuncts finally had a contract after the Spring 2007 semester began in January, but had already been approved to teach courses in their departments. In some cases adjuncts were teaching more than the 10 hours but only when they were asked to do so by the chairs/coordinators and the deans in those areas. Now they were being punished for agreeing to teach the extra hours.
No one in Human Resources contacted these 21 adjuncts to explain what had happened. After being assigned course sections for Fall ’07, HR had sent out a teaching contract. One of my instructors received a follow-up contract with the word “delete” stamped on it. She called me to ask what was going on. I was learning of this decision the same week she was. I was appalled at the way this matter was handled. These instructors did not deserve to be treated so disrespectfully. I have never been more embarrassed to work at Triton College.
If administrators felt it necessary to limit the hours this group of adjuncts could teach, they needed to inform the chairs/coordinators and the deans much earlier. The inconvenience to our departments was completely unnecessary. It also made it difficult, if not impossible, for these adjuncts to find other jobs since most schools start the same time Triton does, and going through the entire interview process takes time. Preventing people from making extra money is one thing, preventing them from making any money is cruel.
The adjunct employee group is not the only group to experience disrespectful treatment. Unfortunately, other groups have been treated with similar disregard. What is also common is for the administrator responsible for making a “bad” decision to remain anonymous, with other administrators supporting that anonymity. Demonstrating a lack of accountability plus blatant disrespect for employees is not something to be proud of, but it is standard behavior for our administrators at Triton College.
Judy Darst
Coordinator of COL 101 & 102, Triton College