I have a friend that works at the local Walmart. He has been working about 30 hours a week for what amounts to wages that are below the poverty line. He went on vacation and was getting ready to go back. He got a call from his supervisor – just before he was starting back to work – that informed him that because of the Affordable Care Act, he could no longer work 30 hours a week because the company would be forced to offer him a health care package. The company was committed to avoiding adding health care to poverty wages, so his hours were being cut.
Of course, this friend isn’t really a friend. It’s me. I don’t really work for Walmart. I work at a University that is “committed to academic excellence in an environment of Christian concern.” Naturally, the Christian concern doesn’t extend to most of the faculty. For us, we just get emails from the campus minister.
Fortunately for me, I am making enough money from writing right now, that I can use the extra time. However, I am wondering how my colleagues with tenure track positions feel about this. I mean, I know most of them are disgusted by it, but I don’t know what anyone is doing about it. Essentially, in some sense, we are all working for and supporting immoral institutions that are exploiting workers and grad students. That doesn’t sit very well with me.
My colleagues with tenure track positions are all busy complaining about how they don't get paid enough. And protesting that the university (the one I teach at) has reduced their funding for traveling to conferences. So far people like me (FTE .74) haven't seen any changes, but who knows what's coming. We'll see how far the "Cura personalis" goes.
Colleen, I know we have talked about this before, but it just kills me when I hear complaints about the work load because it is the busy semester when they have to teach 3 classes.
Kurt and Colleen, at least in our department at UNL, we are trying to fight this kind of exploitation. It is very difficult. One of my colleagues is involved in campus governance and is committed to at least involving non-tenure track faculty in campus governance. I will say in support of UNL that anyone on a .50 FTE contract gets health care.
I personally can't complain, as Creighton is treating me much better than UNL or Concordia ever did in terms of pay and benefits. As you know, I had semesters where I taught as many as seven courses in order to make a lousy $30,000. My situation is much better now, and the reasons for my needing a second job have more to do with Roger's underemployment than mine. Still, it would be sweet if one salary were enough for two people to live on.