The School of Arts and Sciences entered negotiations on Feb. 7 with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), an organization that represents Tufts' part-time faculty.
During the negotiations, union members said they hope to discuss issues of compensation, job security and evaluation processes, in addition to presenting other demands and alleged grievances, according to Andrew Klatt, a lecturer in the Department of Romance Languages.
"Compensation for part-time faculty is far below that of full time faculty," he said. "Little by little ... universities have transformed the instruction workforce into a low-wage, low-paid and in most cases without-benefits workforce."
The university is still in the process of developing positions on the individual issues being discussed, Dean of Academic Affairs for Arts and Sciences James Glaser said.
"Some of the proposals will come from the union, and some will come from us," he said. "What exactly those proposals are, I don't feel that I am at liberty to say, in part because our thinking is not fully clarified yet."
One of the issues the union members will likely discuss is the salary freeze for part-time faculty that has been in place for the last five years, Klatt said.
"Every year that goes by, in real terms, there is a pay cut for someone who gets a zero percent [salary] increase," he said.
According to Klatt, the university has shown no sign of changing their compensation policy.
"[The pay freeze] was the university's decision to impose," he said. "Some administrators will object and say that it wasn't in perpetuity, but in effect it was, because it's in perpetuity until and unless they decide otherwise."
An additional issue that Klatt mentioned involves job security for part-time faculty members, whose terms are outlined in appointment letters, he said.
"[The appointment letters] explicitly state that [the appointment] is depend[ent] on the needs of the university," he said. "The reason it says that is because classes can be canceled for under-enrollment. We have no compensation for canceled courses."
While it is possible they will have an agreement before the end of the semester, the negotiation process will likely extend beyond May, explained.
"Our aspiration is to have negotiations over a whole variety of issues, and I'm hopeful we'll be able to come to a resolution on them," he said.
According to Director of Public Relations Kim Thurler, the first meeting between the union and university was "collegial" and she said she hopes the discussions remain civil and fair.
"We will listen carefully to the union's ideas, taking into account the needs of students, the school and the university as a whole," Thurler told the Daily in an email. "Foremost in our minds will be supporting academic excellence and a high-quality experience for our students. We hope that our final agreement will serve as the basis for a rewarding, long term relationship with our part-time lecturers and the union."
Klatt also hopes to reach a fair compromise with the administration, he said.
"It's all tied up in
what it means to have a middle class life in the United States, to be a professional with a professional compensation package that allows you to rent or buy a decent place to live,
to have a family, and to plan for retirement," Klatt said.
According to Glaser, he is representing the university along with its attorneys and Vice President of Human Resources Linda Cataldo.
Students are also planning to rally support for the part-time faculty during the negotiation process, according to Tufts Labor Coalition member Lior Appel-Kraut.
"It is our role as students to support [the part-time faculty] and to not let their efforts go unnoticed and pretend like it doesn't affect us," she said.
