At Edmonds College, associate faculty are paid less than full-time faculty to teach classes. To be specific, Edmonds College associate faculty are paid 65% of a full-time faculty member’s salary to teach the same class. It is commonly argued that full-time faculty have more responsibilities than associate faculty, like office hours, student advising, or committee work that associate faculty are not required to do, so they get paid more for that work. However, it is also well understood that the extra responsibilities of full-time faculty represent 15% of their workload.
This means that associate faculty are paid 65% of a full-time faculty salary to teach classes, whereas full-time faculty are paid 85% of their salary to teach the same classes. Associate faculty are paid 24% less than a full-time faculty member to do the same job! Our associate faculty have the same qualifications as our full-time faculty, and are teaching the same classes, but are only getting 76% of the pay.
Moreover, the percentage of full-time salary that associate faculty at Edmonds College receive is much lower than the percentage at other local colleges. Below you can see a comparison of these percentages between Edmonds College and other local colleges.
If Edmonds College is going to stay competitive in this market, we need to offer associate faculty more salary.
Same Protection!
The Faculty Collective Bargaining Team is also working hard to give our associate faculty the same protections for their jobs that our full-time faculty have. We are seeking out ways to protect our associate faculty from dismissal without cause. We want to clarify the rules regarding nonrenewal of contracts for associate faculty. We are also considering an option for a two-year contract for associate faculty in our collective bargaining agreement much like other community colleges have done. Supporting our associate faculty does not just mean giving them more pay. We also need to make their jobs less precarious so they can have a reliable income.
Let’s Talk Corrections
Our faculty who teach at the Monroe Correctional Complex (MCC) are also experiencing workload differences compared to faculty who teach at the Edmonds College campus. A full-time faculty member on the Edmonds College campus teaching a full load of classes can expect to be in the classroom for 15 hours per week. Meanwhile, a full-time faculty member teaching at the MCC, who are teaching the same classes as those taught on campus, will be in the classroom for 6 hours a day for 4 days a week, a total of 24 hours per week. If you happen to be a full-time faculty member at MCC who teaches the Basic Skills curriculum, you can expect to be in the classroom for 6 hours a day for 5 days a week, a total of 30 hours per week. This means that our Corrections faculty have less prep time which means less time to evaluate their students’ work. Granting our Basic Skills faculty at MCC more compensated prep time each week would be a good step towards addressing this imbalance in workload.
What We Want
- Increase associate faculty pay to 85% of full-time salary so we can hire and retain associate faculty.
- Make associate faculty jobs less precarious by clarifying the nonrenewal process, protecting associate faculty from dismissal without cause, and supporting two-year contracts.
- More prep time for our Corrections faculty.
When We Fight, We Win!
Here’s what you can do to help.
- Send a message to Dr. Singh (amit.singh@edmonds.edu) or VPI Kim Chapman (kim.chapman@edmonds.edu) to express your support for our faculty in the upcoming contract negotiations.
- Visit the Union Table on Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 - 11 am in the lobby of Mountlake Terrace Hall or Hazel Miller Hall, where you can…
- Get a button to show your support for faculty!
- Write a postcard to the administration in support of our faculty!
- Get the latest updates on contract negotiations!
If you want to join the fight, contact our VP for Action and Advocacy, Chuck Mueller, at chuck.m.mueller@gmail.com.