Today, OCUFA launched the “We Teach Ontario” to highlight the outstanding work of contract faculty, and the challenges created by their precarious working conditions. Using contract faculty profiles and shareable graphics, the campaign aims to raise public awareness of this critical issue facing higher education in Ontario and around the world.
Despite teaching more than half of university courses on many Ontario campuses, contract professors have no job security, no access to benefits, and low pay. The increased use of contract faculty traps many outstanding teachers and researchers in precarious work, and makes it difficult to provide a high-quality learning experience to students. They are excellent teachers and researchers, and we are letting their talents go to waste. This needs to stop.
OCUFA is launching the campaign in solidarity with National Adjunct Walkout Day in the United States. Adjuncts at “colleges and universities across the country will be walking out of their classrooms in protest of their—our—unfair pay and working conditions as second-tier faculty.” OCUFA’s contract faculty committee is planning a series of solidarity actions to coincide with the Walkout and the launch of We Teach Ontario. Closer to home, we are also standing with our contract colleagues at York University and the University of Toronto, who are working to secure a fair settlement for contract faculty at both institutions
To be successful, We Teach Ontario needs your help. If you are a contract faculty member, please take the time to tell us your story. Your input will help us build an even stronger case for improving the working conditions of contract faculty. If you are a student, a full-time faculty member, or a concerned community member, please share the campaign with your networks. Together, we can recognize contract faculty for the work they do, and make a real difference to their working conditions.