Contract Proposal, Article 28
Compensation
The bargaining committee has three main goals with its compensation proposal:
No more unpaid labor
Pay parity with Full-Time Faculty per MLA recommendations
Annual pay raises that track or exceed inflation
To accomplish these goals, the bargaining committee proposes a major shift in the way that the university compensates part-time faculty. Part-time faculty haven’t had a pay raise since 2018 and agreed to pay cuts during the pandemic, so the proposal also includes a $3500 pandemic bonus equal to the one the university paid out to all full-time faculty and non-union staff earlier this year. With inflation at an all-time high, the committee also proposes annual increases based on the rate of inflation (CPI-U) in addition to regular annual raises.
Pay parity with full-time faculty and no more unpaid labor. Faculty are currently only paid for contact hours. This does not capture all the work faculty perform outside of the classroom grading, preparing syllabi, communicating with students, and so on. The bargaining committee proposes a standardized per-course, minimum rate based on the Modern Language Association of America (MLA) recommendations.
45 or the equivalent in teaching activities will be paid at $14,000.
Over 15 but less than 45 will subtract $100 for each hour under 45.
Ex: 33 hour course is -12 hours ($1200): $14,000 - $1200 = $12,800.
Over 45 will add $100 per every hour over 45.
Ex: 60 hour course is +15 hours ($1500): $14,000 + $1500 = $15,500.
Ex: 90 hour course is +45 hours ($4,500): $14,000 + $4,500 = $19,500.
Ex: 180 hour course is +135 hours ($10,350): $14,000 + $10,350 = $24,350.
15 and under will be paid on a prorated basis.
Ex: 15 hour course is (15 hours / 45 hours) x $14,000 = $4,667.
Per data the The New School reports to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average salary for an assistant professor at the university $86,153. The typical teaching load for a full-time professor is 5 to 6 courses per academic year. Per MLA guidelines, part-time faculty “should be compensated pro rata to salaries for full-time faculty members performing similar duties.” $86,153 divided by 6 courses equals $14,359, just about what we propose the school pay part-time faculty for a 45 hour course.
In the event that a faculty member already earns more for a course than the figures specified above, the committee proposes a 20% raise on their current rate of pay.
Other facets of the bargaining committee’s pay proposal include:
An annual pay increase that is 5% or the annual rate of inflation (CPI-U), whichever is higher, for each year of the contract. (If inflation is 2%, then the raise would be 5%. If inflation is 7%, then the raise would be 7%.)
Increase longevity increases for long-time faculty to 5% every five years with a provision for retroactive increases.
A one-time payment of $3,500, equivalent to pandemic “financial recognition” bonuses the university gave to full-time faculty and non-union staff earlier this year.
Increased compensation for administrative hour, senior thesis advising, and independent study.
Increased compensation for training and equipment required to teach online courses.
Expanded additional duties rates with compensation increasing to $200/hour for most tasks.
Increased compensation for co-taught and paired courses.