Higher Education Alert: Are Unions Targeting Adjunct Faculty?

Adjunct faculty members are taking collective action in record numbers. Over the past year, higher education has seen unionization campaigns at universities in major metropolitan areas, including at Tufts University, Bentley University, Lesley University, Northeastern University, Georgetown University, Whittier College, and Loyola Marymount University, to name a few.  What does this mean for higher education?

Traditionally, non-union adjunct faculty have been a source of greater flexibility and significant cost savings for universities facing tight budgets. Whereas a tenured professor may earn upwards of six figures, the median pay for an adjunct professor teaching one three-credit course is usually less than $5,000. And, so long as adjunct professors are limited to less than 30 work hours per week, they are not entitled to health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This only compounds the cost savings and further incentivizes universities forced to operate