To: The New York State House, The New York State Senate, and Governor Andrew Cuomo
Governor Cuomo: End Hourly Cap at Westchester Community College
Tell Westchester Community College that they CANNOT place a ten-hour maximum on Adjunct/Part-Time Faculty.
Why is this important?
As an adjunct professor at Westchester Community College since the fall of 2010, I have helped countless Westchester residents realize their dream of a better life, better job, and better education. Although I am not well paid, I love my job. I love planning lessons, and I love watching my students develop marketable skill sets.
However, when submitting my teaching preferences for the 2014 spring semester, I was shocked to discover that Westchester Community College has implemented a new policy: adjuncts may no longer teach more than 10 class hours per week. As most classes are 3 or 6 hours a week, this means that I am only allowed one 6-hour class and one 3-hour class per semester, shrinking my already paltry semester paycheck.
If Dr. Jill Biden believes that community colleges are “one of America’s best-kept secrets,” why is Westchester Community College allowed to treat those of us on the front lines so poorly?
There was outcry when John Macky, the CEO of Whole Foods, forecasted that Obamacare might force his company to reduce the maximum number of hours a part-time employee could work per week. Macky’s remarks were predictions, not plans. Westchester Community College – part of the SUNY system, and thus part of New York State – has already begun to implement a benefit limit, yet there has been little to no outcry despite the fact that the 10 hours a week, considered by the government to be on par with 30 work hours, keeps adjunct professors below that same mandatory benefit level Macky discussed.
I voted for Obamacare. I supported Obamacare. I wrote to representatives and fought to keep Obamacare. And now New York, a “blue” state, is crippling me in order to avoid Obamacare.
Please encourage SUNY and Westchester Community College to reconsider their policy on adjunct hours. Otherwise, we are likely to lose the best of our teachers and effectively cripple affordable higher education.
However, when submitting my teaching preferences for the 2014 spring semester, I was shocked to discover that Westchester Community College has implemented a new policy: adjuncts may no longer teach more than 10 class hours per week. As most classes are 3 or 6 hours a week, this means that I am only allowed one 6-hour class and one 3-hour class per semester, shrinking my already paltry semester paycheck.
If Dr. Jill Biden believes that community colleges are “one of America’s best-kept secrets,” why is Westchester Community College allowed to treat those of us on the front lines so poorly?
There was outcry when John Macky, the CEO of Whole Foods, forecasted that Obamacare might force his company to reduce the maximum number of hours a part-time employee could work per week. Macky’s remarks were predictions, not plans. Westchester Community College – part of the SUNY system, and thus part of New York State – has already begun to implement a benefit limit, yet there has been little to no outcry despite the fact that the 10 hours a week, considered by the government to be on par with 30 work hours, keeps adjunct professors below that same mandatory benefit level Macky discussed.
I voted for Obamacare. I supported Obamacare. I wrote to representatives and fought to keep Obamacare. And now New York, a “blue” state, is crippling me in order to avoid Obamacare.
Please encourage SUNY and Westchester Community College to reconsider their policy on adjunct hours. Otherwise, we are likely to lose the best of our teachers and effectively cripple affordable higher education.