So adjuncts have zero right?

[hamburger]

Hi, hope everybody is doing well in this difficult time.

In the summer, after checking several times,  I was told in the last minute that courses were cancelled due to low enrollment and I would be contacted about job assignment in the Fall term. On the first day of the term, still never heard from the administrator so I contacted her. Then, she told me again that there is no teaching job for me for this semester because of the low enrollment. In the past, this administrator told me that she does not like people teaching in other department in addition to hers because they don't want people to have enough teaching hours to be able to get some health benefits and be part of the labor union. So, while she does not want me to work for other department, she cannot guarantee even part-time employment for me for two consecutive terms. In this CC, they never give out contract until 1-2 weeks after the school term has started. When they needed me, they gave short notice as short as half a day in the middle of the semester. When they did not need me, they just kept me waiting and not saying anything until the last minute. Does not seem to be ethical. Do many schools treat adjuncts like this?

The majority of the students in my school are from third world countries. One of them told me that due to the pandemic, they have a hard time to get a visa. I asked the administrator if that is the reason but she has no comment.

[spork]

This again? Part-time academic work is a dead end. Find an occupation that pays better and has better working conditions.

[Wahoo Redux]

Your school is a particularly bad example---but you have it correct: adjuncts have no "rights" in the sense you seem to be asking about.

It is the cancer in contemporary academia.

F***'em.  Walk away.  Never work for them again.  I have seen it happen that departments CANNOT find enough adjuncts to fill their ranks, and it is oddly satisfying.

And sorry you have to deal with this.

[Aster]

Yes. It is very much "temp" work. Hired today. Fired tomorrow. Hired the next day somewhere else, or maybe hired the next day at the same place. No job security. It sucks, but the U.S. allows it.

[clean]

This again? Part-time academic work is a dead end. Find an occupation that pays better and has better working conditions.

Im not sure that full time academic employment has much future either! 
Furloughs
pay cuts
benefit cuts
classes cancelled.
scheduled shuffled (teaching additional classes) 
additional demands on time (additional administrative assignments)(with no additional pay)
No pay raises (even COL raises)
The current situation is barely a reflection of the industry that I was first hired into.

But for the OP:
IF you are not looking out for YOU, then NO ONE is. 
THE CC wont hire you IF you work for another place?  Take the jobs that PAY you and dont worry about the ones that dont, or threaten not to pay you for taking ones that do!!

BUT I bet that per hour, your wage as an adjunct is barely more than one would get as a new graduate with a BA.  Perhaps it is time to 'enter the work force' just like a new graduate.

[Golazo]

Different places do different things. Our department works hard to keep adjuncts once we schedule them. But if a university won't give you any long term commitment, you shouldn't view it a something that's more than a semester-by-semester temp job. Your place does sound particularly egregious. Apologies if you are limited from pursuing better opportunities. 

[downer]

OP, why on earth did you ever think otherwise? Even people with rights lost their jobs. Have you you not been following higher education news?

[lightning]

Hamburger, many of us told you to move on to a different career. It's your only option.

[mahagonny]

Hamburger, many of us told you to move on to a different career. It's your only option.

That's just it. It's not their only option. They can continue the way they've been, and fall on the safety net if tit comes to that. And there are people who are counting on their doing that, and there are people who could do something to affect change but they won't.
The hope is not that everyone will stop this way of life. The hope is more likely that people who come to the forum and talk about it, or write pieces for The Chronicle or Slate or wherever, will go away and be replaced by those too embarrassed to talk about it.

Yes. It is very much "temp" work. Hired today. Fired tomorrow. Hired the next day somewhere else, or maybe hired the next day at the same place. No job security. It sucks, but the U.S. allows it.

I know things are better for adjunct ('sessional') faculty in Canada, but I'm not sure how the law plays a role.
Idea for legislation: no college may initiate a contract less than four weeks before the first meeting of class. That way no one preps for the class without getting paid, which should be seen as a violation of minimum wage law.

The most vile aspect of this is the kinds of people who are sometimes attracted to middle management. Who think these kinds of places are fun.

Since hamburger is persisting I suggest, next time you're talking with the chair find a way to nonchalantly mention that you hate unions as you were once ripped off by one. Or just be overheard saying it to a third party. After you get enough hours on your schedule (if that happens) join the union and take full advantage.

[hamburger]

This again? Part-time academic work is a dead end. Find an occupation that pays better and has better working conditions.

Im not sure that full time academic employment has much future either! 
Furloughs
pay cuts
benefit cuts
classes cancelled.
scheduled shuffled (teaching additional classes) 
additional demands on time (additional administrative assignments)(with no additional pay)
No pay raises (even COL raises)
The current situation is barely a reflection of the industry that I was first hired into.

But for the OP:
IF you are not looking out for YOU, then NO ONE is. 
THE CC wont hire you IF you work for another place?  Take the jobs that PAY you and dont worry about the ones that dont, or threaten not to pay you for taking ones that do!!

BUT I bet that per hour, your wage as an adjunct is barely more than one would get as a new graduate with a BA.  Perhaps it is time to 'enter the work force' just like a new graduate.

This department does not even want to hire people if they work for another department in the same CC. They told me that if I work for another department, I have to let them know. They just openly told me that they don't want people to have enough hours to move to the next level to have benefits.

Type 1 Adjunct: No benefit at all. However, expected to have unpaid office hours, attend departmental meetings, provide what colleagues called "customer services".
Type 2 Adjunct: Have limited health benefits and be part of the union for a semester.

People who have been here for many years told me that departments like to schedule adjuncts in a way that they work for long hours/week but not long enough to move to the next stage.

Union asked me to file a formal complaint. I think it is no use because the President already told me that department heads have absolute power in hiring. Union told me that department heads and HR people don't have to explain how they determined who got an interview. I expressed my "concerns" to the President. Then, the Dean and at least two Department Heads said that I "complained" to the President. The President is not an academic. The Dean and those department heads neither.

[hamburger]

OP, why on earth did you ever think otherwise? Even people with rights lost their jobs. Have you you not been following higher education news?

Haven't been following for the past few months.

[hamburger]

This again? Part-time academic work is a dead end. Find an occupation that pays better and has better working conditions.

The original plan at the beginning of the year was to get a full time job in a company and teach in the evening. Thanks for the pandemic, now there are even more people competing for company jobs.

[mahagonny]

This again? Part-time academic work is a dead end. Find an occupation that pays better and has better working conditions.

Im not sure that full time academic employment has much future either! 
Furloughs
pay cuts
benefit cuts
classes cancelled.
scheduled shuffled (teaching additional classes) 
additional demands on time (additional administrative assignments)(with no additional pay)
No pay raises (even COL raises)
The current situation is barely a reflection of the industry that I was first hired into.

But for the OP:
IF you are not looking out for YOU, then NO ONE is. 
THE CC wont hire you IF you work for another place?  Take the jobs that PAY you and dont worry about the ones that dont, or threaten not to pay you for taking ones that do!!

BUT I bet that per hour, your wage as an adjunct is barely more than one would get as a new graduate with a BA.  Perhaps it is time to 'enter the work force' just like a new graduate.

This department does not even want to hire people if they work for another department in the same CC. They told me that if I work for another department, I have to let them know. They just openly told me that they don't want people to have enough hours to move to the next level to have benefits.

No you don't. People forget to do things all the time.
So they are relying on adjunct faculty to tell them where else you are working. Just don't tell them. They obviously have some of the same  people doing courses in multiple departments to some degree, probably because for what they pay there isn't a great big pool of applicants. Otherwise there wouldn't be any conversations about it. They're trying to keep the levels low enough so the union won't get any more people eligible. But don't help them with their problems. Help yourself with yours.
Of course your school is a dump run by a bunch of clowns and I hope you can find a better one to teach in. But a general tip: I don't know why you confide in these administrators. They're not your friends. Better to talk to other adjuncts.

[mahagonny]

i hope you're not going around talking about who's an academic and who's not. There's no reason to rub people the wrong way.
So you complained to the president. Did he listen to you politely and then just tell you that's how things work? Probably. Did he kick you out of his office for being rude? No. You're a nice person. So screw these department heads and deans. You met with the president. Big deal.

[mahagonny]

l