Help these adjunct activists this winter break
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Winter Break can break adjuncts who teach in Colorado's Community College System
More than 4,600 devoted faculty will be laid off this week in Colorado’s largest school system. They work without contracts. They work without health care benefits. They may or may not have classes at the end of January when the spring semester begins. They will be broke and worried through the coldest months of the year. For them, this is a bittersweet “happy holiday” season.
They are the adjunct faculty in Colorado’s Community College System (CCCS), and comprise 80% of the total faculty.
These teachers might feel better if they could secure unemployment insurance benefits, as do other laid-off workers, when they file claims through the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. However, the CCCS refuses to approve the unemployment claims the laid-off adjunct faculty file. For this reason, many community college adjunct faculty will not be returning to our classrooms in January. It is Colorado’s loss.
The ones who stay on the job and in the struggle, namely CCCS adjunct faculty members of the American Association of University Professors, walk a difficult path worthy of support. They are change agents whose activism focuses on improving working conditions for all CCCS faculty. They believe commitment and authentic relationships are the foundations of student success and of organizational strength. They have sponsored bills for faculty in the Colorado General Assembly. They have published two books on the issue. They attend CCCS governing board meetings. They meet with CCCS administrators regularly. They keep teaching and keep advocating for change because they believe new CCCS leadership can unify faculty and improve their working conditions.
Your donation will go directly to these community college adjunct activists. They will will struggle to pay bills until the end of February, when they'll see their first paycheck of the spring term. It will help make their Winter Break a bit warmer, a bit brighter, and a bit more hopeful as they try, and fail, to make ends meet this season.
Note: To sample one of the many ways these activists advocate for change in a broken system, watch their latest video:
Secrets, Scams, and Scandals: The Dirty Little Secrets of the Colorado Community College System
More than 4,600 devoted faculty will be laid off this week in Colorado’s largest school system. They work without contracts. They work without health care benefits. They may or may not have classes at the end of January when the spring semester begins. They will be broke and worried through the coldest months of the year. For them, this is a bittersweet “happy holiday” season.
They are the adjunct faculty in Colorado’s Community College System (CCCS), and comprise 80% of the total faculty.
These teachers might feel better if they could secure unemployment insurance benefits, as do other laid-off workers, when they file claims through the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. However, the CCCS refuses to approve the unemployment claims the laid-off adjunct faculty file. For this reason, many community college adjunct faculty will not be returning to our classrooms in January. It is Colorado’s loss.
The ones who stay on the job and in the struggle, namely CCCS adjunct faculty members of the American Association of University Professors, walk a difficult path worthy of support. They are change agents whose activism focuses on improving working conditions for all CCCS faculty. They believe commitment and authentic relationships are the foundations of student success and of organizational strength. They have sponsored bills for faculty in the Colorado General Assembly. They have published two books on the issue. They attend CCCS governing board meetings. They meet with CCCS administrators regularly. They keep teaching and keep advocating for change because they believe new CCCS leadership can unify faculty and improve their working conditions.
Your donation will go directly to these community college adjunct activists. They will will struggle to pay bills until the end of February, when they'll see their first paycheck of the spring term. It will help make their Winter Break a bit warmer, a bit brighter, and a bit more hopeful as they try, and fail, to make ends meet this season.
Note: To sample one of the many ways these activists advocate for change in a broken system, watch their latest video:
Secrets, Scams, and Scandals: The Dirty Little Secrets of the Colorado Community College System
Organizer
Caprice Lawless
Organizer
Louisville, CO
