Adjunct professors, those who teach at universities, but who are not tenured, are paid far less nowadays than their tenured colleagues at public universities nationwide and tend to receive no health insurance or retirement plan.
A report from Adjunct Action, a member of the Service Employees International Union, shows that in the Boston area, close to 70 percent of instructors were not on the tenure track.
Last week, At-Large Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley’s resolution to support good jobs for adjunct professors passed unanimously in the City Council. On Jan. 13, the Cambridge City Council passed a similar resolution, which calls for universities in the Boston area to support the right of adjunct professors to unionize without interference.
These resolutions benefit thousands of non-union and non-tenured educators who work in the Boston area, particularly at public universities, since new legislation has been introduced to require federal oversight and for the schools to demonstrate accountability for grant money.
