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Contingent full-time and part-time professors at Wells College have voted yes to join contingent faculty at schools across the country in SEIU/Faculty Forward.  The victory shows a growing momentum for college faculty forming unions in New York, following contingent faculty victories at Ithaca College.

Wells adjuncts will join SEIU Local 200United as part of Faculty Forward.  The victory was overwhelming, with a final vote count of 21 for to 6 against.

"We organized to form a union to strengthen Wells College and make it a better environment for the students, the full time faculty, and the contingent faculty," reflected Music Department Lecturer Laura Campbell.  "By organizing we gain a voice which will allow us to participate more fully in providing a higher academic standard and ensure a more stable and consistent faculty."

Both part-time and full-time contingent faculty at Wells College currently teach on a limited-term basis without any assurance of reassignment once their short-term contracts expire. Even though they teach the same students as their tenure-track colleagues, contingent faculty are paid less per course and most lack health care or retirement benefits.

"Now that we have voted to form a union for adjunct faculty, our next goal is to negotiate a contract with Wells College to improve our working conditions," said Visiting Philosophy Professor Mike Gorr.  "We hope that the ultimate result of this will be a stronger academic program for both faculty and students."

Wells College contingent faculty join over 26,000 contingent faculty members in SEIU/Faculty Forward who have won workplace improvements like improved pay, job security, evaluation processes, and access to benefits.

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