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Professors in the Gig Economy

Unionizing Adjunct Faculty in America

edited by Kim Tolley

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The Uber-ization of the classroom and what it means for faculty.

One of the most significant trends in American higher education over the last decade has been the shift in faculty employment from tenured to contingent. Now upwards of 75% of faculty jobs are non-tenure track; two decades ago that figure was 25%. One of the results of this shift—along with the related degradation of pay, benefits, and working conditions—has been a new push to unionize adjunct professors, spawning a national labor movement. Professors in the Gig Economy is the first book to address the causes, processes, and...

The Uber-ization of the classroom and what it means for faculty.

One of the most significant trends in American higher education over the last decade has been the shift in faculty employment from tenured to contingent. Now upwards of 75% of faculty jobs are non-tenure track; two decades ago that figure was 25%. One of the results of this shift—along with the related degradation of pay, benefits, and working conditions—has been a new push to unionize adjunct professors, spawning a national labor movement. Professors in the Gig Economy is the first book to address the causes, processes, and outcomes of these efforts.

Kim Tolley brings together scholars of education, labor history, economics, religious studies, and law, all of whom have been involved with unionization at public and private colleges and universities. Their essays and case studies address the following questions: Why have colleges and universities come to rely so heavily on contingent faculty? How have federal and state laws influenced efforts to unionize? What happens after unionization—how has collective bargaining affected institutional policies, shared governance, and relations between part-time and full-time faculty? And finally, how have unionization efforts shaped the teaching and learning that happens on campus?

Bringing substantial research and historical context to bear on the cost and benefit questions of contingent labor on campus, Professors in the Gig Economy will resonate with general readers, scholars, students, higher education professionals, and faculty interested in unionization.

Contributors: A. J. Angulo, Timothy Reese Cain, Elizabeth K. Davenport, Marianne Delaporte, Tom DePaola, Kristen Edwards, Luke Elliott-Negri, Kim Geron, Lorenzo Giachetti, Shawn Gilmore, Adrianna Kezar, Joseph A. McCartin, Gretchen M. Reevy, Gregory M. Saltzman, Kim Tolley, Nicholas M. Wertsch

Reviews

Reviews

A timely and important book on the dramatic rise in contingent faculty labor, the broader impact it is having on institutions of higher learning, and the union organizing responses of college faculty, Professors in the Gig Economy should receive the attention of academics, policymakers, and the general public.

Professors in the Gig Economy is a call to action. By way of data, historiography, case research, and anecdote, the authors demonstrate the challenges that exist for adjunct faculty and for academe. For those of us who care about academe and those who work in it, the book offers the ingredients to think about what the correct recipe should be for solving a critical problem.

Kim Tolley brings together a group of superb scholars across disciplinary perspectives to discuss one of the most important issues in the ever-shifting world of academe: adjunct faculty members. For far too long, adjunct faculty have been ignored, kicked to the side, and forgotten, even as their ranks increase. Professors in the Gig Economy places them front and center and explores their history and role in the academy.

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Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6
x
9
Pages
240
ISBN
9781421425337
Illustration Description
5 charts
Table of Contents

Preface, by Kim Tolley
Acknowledgements
1. From Golden Era to Gig Economy, by A. J. Angulo
2. Understanding the Need for Unions, by Adrianna Kezar and Thomas DePaola
3. A Long History of Activism and

Preface, by Kim Tolley
Acknowledgements
1. From Golden Era to Gig Economy, by A. J. Angulo
2. Understanding the Need for Unions, by Adrianna Kezar and Thomas DePaola
3. A Long History of Activism and Organizing, by Timothy R. Cain
4. Union Organizing and the Law, by Gregory Saltzman
5. A Just Employment Approach to Adjunct Unionization, by Joseph McCartin and Nicholas Wertsch
6. Unionizing Adjunct and Tenure-Track Faculty at Notre Dame de Namur, by Kim Tolley, Marianne Delaporte, and Lorenzo Giachetti
7. Unions, Shared Governance, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities, by Elizabeth K. Davenport
8. Forming a Union, by Shawn Gilmore
9. Wall to Wall, by Luke Elliot-Negri
10. California State University East Bay, by Kim Geron and Gretchen M. Reevy
Conclusion, by Kim Tolley and Kristen Edwards
Contributors
Appendix
Index

Author Bio
Kim Tolley
Featured Contributor

Kim Tolley

Kim Tolley is a historian of education and professor emerita of Notre Dame de Namur University. She is the author of The Science Education of American Girls: A Historical Perspective and editor of Professors in the Gig Economy: Unionizing Adjunct Faculty in America.