**To sign this call, leave a comment (click on “comments,” then scroll all the way down) with your name and CUNY affiliation(s). Thanks!**
“Under the contract, adjuncts may teach 9 hours at one college regardless of the number of courses and one course, not to exceed 6 hours, at a second college.”
This is the 9-6 Rule as stated in the Adjunct Rights and Benefits brochure under the heading Workload. The rule is articulated as well in longer form in article 15.2 of the 2007-2010 contract between CUNY and the PSC. The purpose of this petition is to bring about the elimination of the 9-6 rule, or more specifically to induce the leadership of the PSC to exclude it from the agreement they are in the process of making with the City University of New York. The rationale given by the PSC for the 9-6 rule is that it counteracts exploitation. We will show how the arguments given in support of this rationale are insupportable.
- Exploitation and Parity:
One of the arguments in support of the 9-6 rule is that adjunct faculty are being exploited, that no one should work full time for part-time wages and that adjuncts are entitled to greater parity with full timers. This is a valid assertion, but the fact remains that the 9-6 rule has done nothing to increase the pay of part timers. Rather than promoting parity, the 9-6 rule has only succeeded in diminishing it by limiting employment opportunities for those who are in the greatest need of them. To make matters worse, starting next fall certain 3 credit courses at certain campuses will become 4 credit courses. This means that anyone teaching a 4 credit course will be able to teach a maximum of two courses – either two 4 credit courses or one 4 credit course and one 3 credit course at one campus. The resulting loss of hours and pay for those who are accustomed to teaching three courses at one campus will be significant and unavoidable unless the 9-6 rule is abolished.
- Reducing the Numbers:
It is further argued that CUNY’s intention is to save money by hiring as many part-timers as possible. Hire more, pay less. Rather than limiting the number of adjunct faculty, the 9-6 rule has only compelled the schools to hire more of them. When new courses open up just prior to the beginning of the semester, new adjuncts are hired because the ones already under the schools’ employ are already working the maximum number of hours set by the 9-6 rule.
- Cancellation Backup:
It has also been argued that compelling adjuncts to seek employment at a second school is beneficial since it provides backup in the event that cancellations occur at the other. This argument is insupportable for two reasons. Firstly, balancing jobs at two or more campuses is a hardship involving extra travel time and cost as well as the inconvenience of dealing with conflicts involved in scheduling classes. Secondly, the elimination of the 9-6 rule would in no way prevent part-timers from seeking employment at more than one campus if they want. On the contrary, they would be able to teach more courses at different campuses than they are currently allowed to and as such would be in an even better position to deal with the advent of cancellations.
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It is now time for the PSC leadership to acknowledge that the 9-6 rule undermines the wellbeing of the very people it is intended to protect. It is with this consideration in mind that we invite our fellow union members to sign and circulate this petition calling upon our representatives in the PSC to propose, in their current negotiations with CUNY management, that the 9-6 rule be eliminated, and/or that the Executive Council of the PSC grant a general waiver in perpetuity allowing adjuncts to teach over and above the current hours limitations.
To sign this call, leave a comment (click on “comments,” then scroll all the way down) with your name and CUNY affiliation(s). Thanks!
Signed by:
Andrew Gottlieb, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Jennifer Chancellor, The Graduate Center
G. McNamara, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Geoff Klock, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Joyce Harte, Borough of Manhattan Community College
April Andres, Borough of Manhattan Community College
John Short, Borough of Manhattan Community College
L. Rivera, Borough of Manhattan Community College
John D’Antonio, Bronx Community College
Marian Stewart Titus, Bronx Community College
Marshall Siegel, Bronx Community College
George Sorrentini, Bronx Community College
Mark Frangos, Bronx Community College
Jim Cyborowski, Bronx Community College
Elizabeth Olana, Bronx Community College
Sophia Cantave, Bronx Community College
Steve Bookman, Bronx Community College
Catherine Perry, Bronx Community College, Lehman College
Howard Pflanzer, Bronx Community College
Eugene Bletay, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Deborah L. Sinor, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Adrienne Urbanki, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Lenny Tellin, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Kate Garrison, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Rossa Santes, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Jacqueline Gill, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Victoria Berku, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Jason Angell, Bronx Community College
Laurence O’Connell, Bronx Community College
J. Finkelstein, Bronx Community College
Elizabeth Albrecht, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Mark Donnelly, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Emelyn Tapaoan, Hostos and Borough of Manhattan Community Colleges
Ana M. Lopez, Hostos Community College
Michelle Cheikin, Hostos Community College
Rocio Rayo, Hostos Community College
Barry Hartglass, Hostos Community College
Amulya Mohan, Hostos Community College
Luis Pelicot, Hostos Community College
Rafael Balbuena, Hostos Community College
Faina Riftina, Hostos Community College
Reginald Dorcely, Hostos Community College
Nicholas West, Hostos Community College
Ruben Worrell, Hostos Community College
Robin Soto, Hostos Community College
E. Andreu, Hostos Community College
Theodor Maghrak, Hostos Community College
Ray Healey, Hostos Community College
Juan A. Lopez, Jr., Borough of Manhattan Community College
Pamela Edstrom, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Aaron Weinstein, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Halyna Lemekh, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Kidaya Ntoko, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Rahmat Tavakol, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Erica White, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Hirosuke Hyodo, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Tracy Tully, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Tonya Kerry, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Thomas Smith, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Chris Agee, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Rebecca Smart, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Robert Caputi, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Herbert Fischer, Borough of Manhattan Community College
[Additional signatories are listed in the comments to this post. Click the link, then scroll down to the comment box.]
