This week, Emerson Los Angeles Faculty (ELAF-AAUP) voted to ratify its first union contract, securing significant gains for part-time faculty members. The contract provides increased wages for most faculty, annual cost of living increases, professional development resources, and increased job security and eligibility for benefits for senior faculty. “This is a momentous step for our contingent faculty,” said Jennifer Vandever, interim president of ELAF-AAUP and longtime professor at Emerson College Los Angeles (ELA), “We’re excited to have a contract and be a part of AAUP along with our colleagues in Boston.”
ELA relies heavily on contingent faculty; ninety-five percent of its current resident faculty members are adjuncts. “Faculty working conditions are student learning conditions and we see this as a win for our students as well,” Vandever said.
The ELA faculty played a significant role in the college’s successful move from its longtime Burbank location to the state-of-the-art $110 million facility on Sunset Boulevard in 2014. In addition to teaching classes, ELA's faculty participate in devising curriculum and long-term institutional planning and they provide outreach to the Los Angeles community.
The new contract includes:
• A new process for evaluating affiliated faculty’s teaching performance and the ability for senior affiliated faculty to grieve non-reappoint decisions
• Many adjunct faculty will gain access to year-long contract offers and become eligible for benefits and pay raises
• Raises and an annual cost of living adjustment of 2%-4% will increase some faculty members’ pay by an estimated 13-20% by the end of the four-year contract. Salaries at ELA for most faculty range from $5626 to $7600 per course under the newly ratified contract
• A new professional development fund as well as eligibility for excellence in teaching awards