I have the privilege of being a member of several performers’ unions and I see first-hand the kind of protections they provide.  I believe that it is imperative that we have these same protections here at UArts. Having a union to advocate for things like fair pay, reasonable workload and healthcare, will ensure that both full and part time faculty are able to do their jobs efficiently, effectively and equitably!

In my first year as a full-time faculty member I was stunned in a committee meeting when I learned that many of my colleagues have been living in fear at UArts because of a sense of powerlessness. Our union is how faculty can find our voice, release this fear, and focus on our mission to Advance Human Creativity. 

In order to have the time and energy to invest in vital student-lead initiatives for racial equity on campus, UArts faculty need job security and equitable pay. A faculty union is the best way to create the stability we need to seed and sustain positive changes within the university.

Being an adjunct is sort of a free-for-all when it comes to rules, regulations, benefits and job security. I just hope to keep working but am never sure if I am going to have classes or if they have been cancelled due to low-enrollment. Having a union to protect and advocate for me is one of the few benefits I can hope for right now, so that I can focus on doing what I do best and enjoy most: teaching our students.

It’s hard to believe I’ve been working for UArts for five years and have never received a cost of living increase. This means I’m earning less now than when I started! I’ve worked at peer institutions that are unionized, and this would not have been tolerated. We need to unionize now and let our administration know this is not a sustainable way to pay its employees. Faculty deserve yearly cost of living increases, not yearly wage reductions!

UArts faculty need a union so that we can stand together and address our concerns with the administration, and advocate for change and progress.  Essential issues that a union could/should address are:  job security (the uncertainty from semester to semester is stressful for PT faculty); reinstate healthcare for all PT faculty; increased compensation for the work we do before, during and after our actual teaching load.  A union will give us opportunities to be heard and to move forward.

I have spent most of my adult life at The University of the Arts. I attended as a student, and now serve as a lecturer. This place has seen me through my brightest days and darkest moments, and I have undergone profound change as a student, educator, and human being here. In these uncertain times, we need a voice and power to affect change at the university to preserve what this institution is - a place for artists to grow and learn. Where one comes to find beauty and meaning in a troubled world. A place for students, faculty, and staff alike to call home. The faculty, who are the lifeblood of the university, deserve living wages, health benefits, and job security. This is our right as the primary labor of this institution, and the administration should equip us with all tools and utilities available to best serve our students. This is why I support our union.

In the face of COVID-19, university education is going through massive changes. We as educators are being asked to bear the responsibility of overhauling the university for them. With tuition and wages staying where they are, universities are putting us into a problematic situation where we must reinvent our curriculum to support hybrid learning while receiving no compensation for it. Right now, decisions are being made behind closed doors; a union is the only way we will ensure a voice of advocacy in the room.

I grew up in Michigan, where I saw first-hand how the UAW secured better wages and benefits for working families. When I visit now, it’s equally clear how the erosion of unions has decimated communities. It was the same in my twenty years in newspapers. Working at union papers meant that I always fared better than my friends doing the same jobs in non-union newsrooms. Unions have always meant better things for working folks. I want to see that happen at UArts.