Editor’s note: This commentary is by Elisabeth Lehr, lead faculty negotiator of the newly formed faculty union at Community College of Vermont, where she is on the history faculty.
[T]he Vermont State Colleges System provides the vast majority of higher education for Vermonters, most of whom remain in Vermont following graduation. According to Chancellor Jeb Spaulding, the institution acts as a “major workforce pipeline delivering entrepreneurs and workers to power our state’s economy.” Of this system, the Community College of Vermont — with 12 locations across the state and a thriving online branch — serves 6,000 students every semester, and is the largest institution in the VSCS. The faculty at CCV recently voted to form a union (joining our colleagues in the VSCS who have long been unionized) with the goal of helping to secure the future of the college, its students, and its place in the Vermont economy. We believe it is vital that faculty have a voice at the table when decisions are made about the future of higher education in Vermont.
CCV has evolved significantly over the decades to become a major provider of higher education for Vermonters of all ages and from all walks of life. When CCV was founded it was, literally, a storefront operation with just a few students. At the time, both administrators and faculty members were community volunteers. Now, CCV has developed into the anchor of the VSCS with a fully benefited and professional administration and support staff. However, these fundamental changes have not been reflected in faculty employment. While the administration enjoys a professional-level salary and full benefits, including health care, retirement and free tuition for themselves and their families, faculty receive no benefits and we are paid at a lower rate than our colleagues at other Vermont State Colleges. This contingent status hampers the faculty from being able to plan ahead both academically and financially.
The reality is that although the faculty is vital to the overall CCV mission, we have little say in institutional priorities or academics. Even as more Vermont students have come into our classrooms, faculty have remained a temporary and often revolving workforce without sufficient opportunities to participate in faculty governance, develop and assess curricula, or review program and academic policy.
We envision an employment structure that better reflects CCV’s status as one of Vermont’s primary educational institutions and that aligns with efforts to cultivate robust and sustainable jobs throughout the state. We seek improved job security, benefits and an institutional culture that recognizes faculty expertise as essential to the core mission of the college. We believe meeting these core objectives will lead to better working conditions for faculty, which will translate into improved learning conditions for students.
As one of the most democracy-focused and forward-thinking states in the nation, Vermont and its institutions should value and embrace democracy in the workplace, which is exactly what a faculty union will bring to CCV. Furthermore, civic engagement at work in the form of a union creates a stronger and more dedicated workforce that will in turn bring their voices to the Legislature, to their communities and neighborhoods, relaying the crucial message that affordable higher education for all Vermonters remains the backbone of any good economy.
However, the state of Vermont has not fully lived up to its promise to increase funding for its higher education system. State funding for higher education has declined from 51 percent in the 1980s to 16 percent last year, which financially pinches our institutions, our students, and our faculty. CCV students currently pay the country’s highest community college tuition rates. We believe that a strong union is the best path to increased state funding, which will ensure fair tuition for our students and fair wages for community college faculty. We are eager to serve as strong allies in the call for more adequate legislative funding for our students and our college system.
We look forward to sitting down with the CCV administration to begin bargaining at the end of January. If both parties come to the table in the spirit of collaboration, we believe that we can reach a fair agreement by the end of the spring semester that recognizes faculty as vital to CCV’s core education mission.
