Join Rally to Support Community College Adjuncts at 4/20 in South Portland

Adjunct professors (MSEA-SEIU 1989) in the Maine Community College system will a hold a rally for a fair contract on Thursday, April 20 at noon in front of the campus center at Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) in South Portland. MSEA members say the administration’s current offer is well below what anyone could consider to be a “living wage.”

“Adjuncts in the MCCS are some of the poorest paid educational professionals in the state, and are compensated far below national averages for adjunct pay. Simply put: we are not paid a living wage,” said Mark Read, an adjunct professor of communications at SMCC. “Teaching a full time load — 5 classes per semester, an overload at any other college — gets us less than $30,000 per year. It’s a disgrace. In addition, adjuncts do not receive any raises, ever. A first time adjunct is paid the same as someone with 15 years of experience. Our loyalty and service isn’t even recognized.”

In a recent guest column, SMCC adjunct Professor Dennis Camire pointed out that the state’s new policy to provide free tuition to Maine’s community colleges is falling on the backs of poorly paid adjuncts, many of whom are earning the same amount as new hires, even after 20 years of employment.

If you can make it, please come out to support the MCCS adjuncts at their rally at SMCC next Thursday at noon!