Higher Education

Montgomery College Part-Timers Ratify First-Ever Contract

On January 19, the Montgomery College Board of Trustees unanimously ratified the first-ever contract between the College and its part-time faculty, represented by SEIU Local 500. The Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Michael Lin, called the contract historic, and board member Stephen Kaufman said that his fellow board members were very pleased with it.

Following the vote to ratify, copies of the contract were signed by the College President Dr. Hercules Pinkney, SEIU Local 500 President Merle Cuttitta, and members of the part-time faculty bargaining team. The two parties are looking forward a productive, collaborative relationship and have already begun to move Montgomery College toward being an even better place to work and learn!

> View a slide show of photos from the signing

SEIU Local 500 represents more than 2,400 part-time professors at The George Washington University (GW) in Washington, DC and Montgomery College in Maryland. The part-time faculty of GW is the third such faculty in the nation to organize at a private university. Montgomery College adjuncts were the first part-time professors to organize in the state of Maryland.

President Signals End to Bush Anti-Labor Policies

With the signing of his first bill Jan. 29, President Barrack Obama sent a strong signal to American workers that the anti-labor policies of the Bush era are over. Mr. Obama signed The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, effectively reversing a U.S. Supreme Court decision that made it more difficult for employees to sue their employers for wage discrimination. The importance of the new law to workers was made even more evident by the diverse crowd invited to watch the bill signing in the White House East Room. Prominent women’s rights advocates, labor union leaders, civil rights veterans, and well-known lawmakers attended, as did several rank-and-file union members. Merle Cuttitta, President of SEIU Local 500, led a small Local 500 contingent.

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Montgomery College Part-time Faculty Statement of Principles

The work of community colleges like Montgomery College is critical to the success of our communities and our state, particularly in the current economic climate. Maryland’s community colleges generate roughly $11.6 billion in economic activity annually. The average student’s lifetime income will increase by $5 for every $1 invested in his or her education at Montgomery College.

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Faculty In Focus: The Union Difference Meant Job Security

I was one of the first to support the effort at GWU to organize a union for part-timers when first approached about the union by Prof. Kip Lornell of the Music Dept. back in the spring of 2004. I had been a member of the University of Toronto’s union for graduate teaching assistants back in the 1980s. I was astonished, upon my return to Washington, 15 years and two terminal degrees later, to be offered less per course for more poorly defined workloads.

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Faculty in Focus: An Interview with Stella Bagot

In March 2007, a small group of part-time professors, concerned about the low wages and lack of benefits at Montgomery College, began to hold meetings. A demure, soft spoken teacher consistently attended those early discussions, which continued for over a year. She seldom spoke, but when she did, people listened. And when it came time to take action, Stella Bagot did not hesitate to join SEIU Local 500. She played a vital role throughout the union organizing campaign and election victory. Today she is part of the bargaining team negotiating our first union contract with the college.

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At A GlanceOur numbers: 2,400

Where we work:
The George Washington University
Montgomery College

Higher Ed Events

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
3/24/2010
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
5/25/2010