Higher Education

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.

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