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Bargaining For Adjuncts: An Assessment Of Adjunct Union Growth In The Saint Louis Region, Jameson Ramirez

Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy

Minimum-wage labor is no longer confined to sectors once associated with low-skill occupations. In college classrooms across the United States, we are witness to the rise of a “gig-economy” among faculty positions where highly skilled work is being completed by part-time workers known commonly as adjuncts. Despite performing highly-skilled work, adjuncts are compensated at the levels of low-skilled workers. Lack of access to benefits, capricious contract agreements, and a general sense of feeling dispensable are common themes to the adjunct experience. The aim of this paper is to address the concerns of adjuncts and suggest some workable solutions to their …