LTCC Faculty Hosting Teach-In on National Adjunct Walkout Day

Across the nation, adjunct faculty at colleges will be walking off the job Wednesday in recognition of National Adjunct Walkout Day. In South Lake Tahoe though, full and part-time faculty at LTCC will host a "Teach-In" to educate students and the public about adjunct positions.

From 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., faculty, students and the public will meet in the Main Building's Commons to discuss part-time faculty concerns nationwide, including fair wages, improved job security, and better working conditions.

At LTCC’s Teach-In, a panel of LTCC faculty members will highlight the historical and economic perspectives of part-time faculty members, and share their personal testimonials. Panel members will include History, Political Science and Ethnic Studies instructor Dr. Albert Ponce, Sociology and Anthropology instructor Dr. Scott Lukas, ESL and Spanish instructor Maxine Alper, and English faculty part-time instructor Julie Ewing. There will be an open Q & A session following the panel discussion, and students, members of the media and the public are invited to ask questions.

National Adjunct Walkout Day was proposed in October 2014 by an adjunct professor of writing at San Jose State University who wishes to remain anonymous, citing concerns about job security and a desire for the protest not to have a designated leader. The Feb. 25 Walkout Day will mean different things at college campuses across the country. At some schools, faculty members plan on walking out of the classroom to draw attention to the plight of thousands of adjunct instructors. Other colleges, like LTCC, are planning Teach-In events to educate and inform on those issues.

In 1969, approximately 80% of California’s community college instructors were full-time. That figure has nearly reversed, with approximately 70% of community college instructors being part-timers now. That’s despite a California state law mandating that 75% of instruction at community colleges be performed by full-time instructors. A growing body of evidence suggests the situation has a serious negative impact. Several recent studies show that an over-reliance on part-time faculty diminishes student success by lowering graduation, retention, and transfer rates.

Many part-timers earn significantly less than their full-time counterparts, even though they often have similar workloads and credentials. Part-time instructors often do not have access to healthcare benefits as well, and there are few job security protections in place for them.