So adjuncts have zero right?

[mahagonny]

I've had to offer contracts at the last minute many times. The reasons vary. Sometimes the scheduled faculty member became ill and was unexpectedly unable to teach and we had to find someone to take over. Sometimes far more students needed to enroll than anticipated, and we had to open another section. Another time a faculty member suddenly resigned and we needed to cover their courses.

It's not poor planning. Things happen, and you have to pivot.

Wow, but, other than that, the written contracts are signed and processed before the beginning of the semester? That would be a job security improvement over what I have experienced.

I signed the contracts for the courses I'm teaching in January a few weeks ago.

Oh...well of course, but then you're the type who finds it so easy to be above average. I was wondering more like,  what is the lay of the land out in four hats' territory. You know, what's the standard deal for ordinary slobs like me.

[hamburger]

Why are you still hoping/trying to get a job at a place you clearly hate teaching students you despise?  This school owes you nothing and you owe them nothing.
The pandemic is a great excuse to have a "resume gap" where you find a new path.  I know that you have a lot tied up in your vision of yourself as a educator.  Would it help to picture yourself as a designer/inventor/scientist?
Unless what you really want is to be miserable and have semi-anonymous folks on the internet talk with you, it's time for a serious change in career.

Yes, designer/inventor/scientist are all good. The problem is I cannot get that kind of jobs. Do I really have to spend several hours a day to apply for jobs? I don't know if I am being ineffective. Sometimes I can only apply for a few jobs in a day given that some places require me to manually enter the same kind of detailed information that I have already included on my CV on their website. It is much more enjoyable to read some textbooks than keep applying and failing.

Honestly speaking, if I don't need money, I would rather be a student again. The adult world is not good. I am not good at playing politics and handling bad guys.

These days, students became powerful. They like to complain about faculty members violating their human rights. At least in my CC, they like to form teams to complain together to get higher marks than they deserve. I and my colleague were threatened to remove a question on final exam or the students would team up to complain to the department head.  I heard that a colleague asked a student to turn off her cell phone during the class. Then, the student took the colleague to court. Another senior professor also got into legal issue few months just before his retirement. Fortunately, in his case, even without the support from the CC, the union got a lawyer for him.

[fourhats]

Wow, but, other than that, the written contracts are signed and processed before the beginning of the semester? That would be a job security improvement over what I have experienced.

In my territory, we try to be fair. Adjuncts are represented by the union. If they have a half-time load, they get benefits. We are supposed to know how much they've taught in the aggregate around the university, but unless we ask HR we don't always know if they've taught in other departments. We give advance notice if we don't think there will be work for them the next year. Sometimes, for example, they are there to cover for a faculty member who is on leave, and now the faculty member is returning. We invite them to meetings. And yes, we've been in a position to offer a course or two unexpectedly and at the last minute for reasons I mentioned earlier. Long-term adjuncts are protected by contract. In other scenarios, if someone else's  contract is late, after the semester has started, it usually because HR sat on it and we were unaware of that until the instructor tells us. Not everyone is out to take advantage of adjuncts.

[marshwiggle]

I've had to offer contracts at the last minute many times. The reasons vary. Sometimes the scheduled faculty member became ill and was unexpectedly unable to teach and we had to find someone to take over. Sometimes far more students needed to enroll than anticipated, and we had to open another section. Another time a faculty member suddenly resigned and we needed to cover their courses.

It's not poor planning. Things happen, and you have to pivot.

Wow, but, other than that, the written contracts are signed and processed before the beginning of the semester? That would be a job security improvement over what I have experienced.

I signed the contracts for the courses I'm teaching in January a few weeks ago.

Oh...well of course, but then you're the type who finds it so easy to be above average. I was wondering more like,  what is the lay of the land out in four hats' territory. You know, what's the standard deal for ordinary slobs like me.

Some of my frustration comes from the fact that, no matter how objectively fair the conditions, the union will whine about how "unfair" the situation is. (Did you hearStephen Colbert's interview of Kamala Harris, where he asked her about basically accusing Biden of being a racist during the debates? She laughed and said "It was a DEBATE!!!" as though basically lying to try and win was appropriate in that setting. That's the kind of attitude unions have that makes me not want to associate with them at all.)

[Hegemony]

I always know that when people use the word "whine" for "object," they're trying to skew the debate by being dismissive of the other side's concerns. People are always whining about unions, y'know?

We have a lot of things to complain about here, and even if the union were determined to complain about every one of them, the list is so long that they'd never get to the end of it. The administration thinks up new ones before we can even register the old ones. Fortunately the union does spend great time and energy addressing the most egregious, and just prevented some 200 adjuncts from being summarily fired (and a time when we have more enrollment than we can handle).

[in2ny]

Adjuncts are usually hired as soon as the need arises.  Department chairs can usually predict what their departments will need and tentatively assign classes but contracts are not signed, in my experience, until the actual beginning of the semester.

In my experience, adjuncts are usually scheduled as soon as possible. But the actual contracts don't get sent out until around the start of the semester.

I've seen them not sent until several weeks into the semester and in at least one instance I didn't get my first paycheck for Spring until after Spring break. This is just one reason I have little patience when people don't understand why adjunct employers  deserve unions.

What makes you think having a union would make you get your paycheck on time? I am a tenured prof teaching an extra course as an adjunct and haven't received any of the pay for the adjunct assignment. We have a union and the contract was signed months ago. Adjuncts never get paid on the first payday because we have an impenetrable bureaucracy.

[mahagonny]

I always know that when people use the word "whine" for "object," they're trying to skew the debate by being dismissive of the other side's concerns. People are always whining about unions, y'know?

We have a lot of things to complain about here, and even if the union were determined to complain about every one of them, the list is so long that they'd never get to the end of it. The administration thinks up new ones before we can even register the old ones. Fortunately the union does spend great time and energy addressing the most egregious, and just prevented some 200 adjuncts from being summarily fired (and a time when we have more enrollment than we can handle).

+1
'Whine' is an insinuation that the person reporting the bad conditions is unable to cope. It's an ad hominem. It makes the worker and his choices the focus instead of the quality of his argument. A person getting paid on time and having a signed contract in advance of the starting date are normally standard things for professional jobs. Obviously the push (largely successful) has been to strip the college teaching job of these expectations and norms.

What makes you think having a union would make you get your paycheck on time? I am a tenured prof teaching an extra course as an adjunct and haven't received any of the pay for the adjunct assignment. We have a union and the contract was signed months ago. Adjuncts never get paid on the first payday because we have an impenetrable bureaucracy.

That's a  little bit like saying 'what makes you think pouring water on the wildfire is going to put it out?' You're never sure what the union can accomplish. But never trying to accomplish anything together, when you have a large number of people with the same legitimate concern, makes less sense than trying and failing.
I would submit that your typical 'impenetrable bureaucracy' may not be truly impenetrable due to its size, but appears impenetrable because it has people in it who have a bad attitude. Some are hiding their bad attitude and some don't even bother, depending on them and the culture. It's possible to send a contract through ten offices for signature by noon tomorrow if you have a team who understands it's important.

Honestly speaking, if I don't need money, I would rather be a student again. The adult world is not good. I am not good at playing politics and handling bad guys.

Hamburger, maybe just the kind of job that has less of these things, politics, bad guys, restive students etc. though it might appear to be a relatively duller job, could be a job that takes some of the stress out of your life.  Of course you don't need me to tell you you have options.

[the_geneticist]

Do I really have to spend several hours a day to apply for jobs?

Yes.  Until you have a job, your job is to find a job. 
You should also use a job placement service or temp agency.  As I've said before, being able to do basic math, read in English, and lift 25+ lbs unassisted are all marketable skills.  So are things like being able to type, alphabetize, and having color vision.  You would likely get placed in an office position doing filing/sorting/data entry.  Or if you want something physical, a warehouse pulling parts for orders.  Don't knock it until you try it.  And those can start to open more doors along the way.

[in2ny]

I always know that when people use the word "whine" for "object," they're trying to skew the debate by being dismissive of the other side's concerns. People are always whining about unions, y'know?

We have a lot of things to complain about here, and even if the union were determined to complain about every one of them, the list is so long that they'd never get to the end of it. The administration thinks up new ones before we can even register the old ones. Fortunately the union does spend great time and energy addressing the most egregious, and just prevented some 200 adjuncts from being summarily fired (and a time when we have more enrollment than we can handle).

+1
'Whine' is an insinuation that the person reporting the bad conditions is unable to cope. It's an ad hominem. It makes the worker and his choices the focus instead of the quality of his argument. A person getting paid on time and having a signed contract in advance of the starting date are normally standard things for professional jobs. Obviously the push (largely successful) has been to strip the college teaching job of these expectations and norms.

What makes you think having a union would make you get your paycheck on time? I am a tenured prof teaching an extra course as an adjunct and haven't received any of the pay for the adjunct assignment. We have a union and the contract was signed months ago. Adjuncts never get paid on the first payday because we have an impenetrable bureaucracy.

That's a  little bit like saying 'what makes you think pouring water on the wildfire is going to put it out?' You're never sure what the union can accomplish. But never trying to accomplish anything together, when you have a large number of people with the same legitimate concern, makes less sense than trying and failing.
I would submit that your typical 'impenetrable bureaucracy' may not be truly impenetrable due to its size, but appears impenetrable because it has people in it who have a bad attitude. Some are hiding their bad attitude and some don't even bother, depending on them and the culture. It's possible to send a contract through ten offices for signature by noon tomorrow if you have a team who understands it's important.

Honestly speaking, if I don't need money, I would rather be a student again. The adult world is not good. I am not good at playing politics and handling bad guys.

Hamburger, maybe just the kind of job that has less of these things, politics, bad guys, restive students etc. though it might appear to be a relatively duller job, could be a job that takes some of the stress out of your life.  Of course you don't need me to tell you you have options.

Yes, the reason it's impenetrable is because it's full of people with a bad attitude or who wish to increase their own importance (which can be done by gumming up the works). Those people with the bad attitude are represented by the union, too!

To be clear, I don't have a problem with faculty having a union, especially adjuncts-- in most schools they truly do need a union to avoid mistreatment. I just don't think a union is the panacea that some people think it is. In some cases it can be good to have them in your corner but in many others they just add another layer of paperwork.

[Ruralguy]

I think you have to open up your geography and figure out how to break it to your parent later.

[apl68]

Do I really have to spend several hours a day to apply for jobs?

Yes.  Until you have a job, your job is to find a job. 
You should also use a job placement service or temp agency.  As I've said before, being able to do basic math, read in English, and lift 25+ lbs unassisted are all marketable skills.  So are things like being able to type, alphabetize, and having color vision.  You would likely get placed in an office position doing filing/sorting/data entry.  Or if you want something physical, a warehouse pulling parts for orders.  Don't knock it until you try it.  And those can start to open more doors along the way.

These sorts of jobs may not sound like fun.  In most cases they probably aren't.  Nor do they carry any social prestige whatsoever.  But no job that enables one to support oneself doing honest work is to be despised, nor are any of the people working such jobs.  You have options if the work situation you are in seems altogether intolerable.  It could prove a real relief to switch occupations.  You sound like you really need that sort of relief.

Regarding lowly jobs potentially opening more doors--many years ago I was hopelessly deadlocked on completing my dissertation.  I had been in grad school for six years.  It had just kept getting harder and harder, and was making me more miserable.  I had not found teaching as a graduate assistant as simple or congenial as I had hoped either.  It was in some ways a situation not unlike where you find yourself, OP.

To eke out my (woefully) inadequate teaching assistant earnings, I had found work as a student assistant at the university library.  It wasn't a great job, but I applied myself, looked for ways to make myself useful, and showed that I could handle increased responsibility.  After giving up on grad school I was able to be hired full-time at the library.  In the years that followed I discovered that I had an aptitude for library work, went back to school for my library degree, and ultimately found librarianship a satisfying career.

None of this was easy.  It was quite difficult psychologically to abandon one career and start over on the bottom at something else.  It took years to see results.  I had youth on my side and so was eventually able to build a new career.  You may not be able to build a satisfying career.  But you do have the means to find work to live on that does not have the toxic work culture that is making you miserable.  Maybe now is the time to start doing that.

[mahagonny]

Some of my frustration comes from the fact that, no matter how objectively fair the conditions, the union will whine about how "unfair" the situation is. (Did you hearStephen Colbert's interview of Kamala Harris, where he asked her about basically accusing Biden of being a racist during the debates? She laughed and said "It was a DEBATE!!!" as though basically lying to try and win was appropriate in that setting. That's the kind of attitude unions have that makes me not want to associate with them at all.)

Pretty honest answer, actually. But what are they gonna do with all those T-shirts? ("That little girl was me!") There's something to be said for knowing when to stop.

To be clear, I don't have a problem with faculty having a union, especially adjuncts-- in most schools they truly do need a union to avoid mistreatment. I just don't think a union is the panacea that some people think it is. In some cases it can be good to have them in your corner but in many others they just add another layer of paperwork.

Agreed, and sometimes it can be a bully pulpit for lost souls. Like the ones who are figuring out how to change my teaching so the world will change and nothing like the George Floyd killing will ever happen again.

[spork]

Since the OP has resumed his habit of starting multiple threads on the same topic, I'll paste one of my responses from another of his threads here:

Age-discrimination in the job market is very real, but is very hard to prove, and not many people care that much about doing anything about it--unlike for many other forms of prejudice. HOWEVER, unless you have, as Wahoo Redux said, "smoking gun" proof, it doesn't matter what anyone said to you, OP. Even if you do have proof, and win a lawsuit what would you gain? If you were turned down for job as a VP of Operations for Big Time Corporation X and someone said this, then sure, maybe it would be worth the fight. As it is, I have followed your struggles for a long time, and I think that age-discrimination doesn't have as much to do about your job-search woes as some other aspects of your CV. If you aren't geographically limited, in your shoes I would search out any other employment opportunity in the world that would pay me enough to survive, just to get away from the toxic environment you have been suffering at for the past couple years-->Just my 2 cents worth. But, I do hope you find something going forward to get you out of this situation and wish you the best of luck in your ongoing search.

Thanks. I am stuck with a parent whom I have to take care of. That is a problem. Otherwise, I would have left my current city long long time ago.

Find a job in another city and take the parent with you.

Thinking you can establish a financially-viable career as an adjunct by hiring lawyers to file discrimination lawsuits is delusional, but be my guest.

[clean]

Yes.  Until you have a job, your job is to find a job.
You should also use a job placement service or temp agency.  As I've said before, being able to do basic math, read in English, and lift 25+ lbs unassisted are all marketable skills.  So are things like being able to type, alphabetize, and having color vision.  You would likely get placed in an office position doing filing/sorting/data entry.  Or if you want something physical, a warehouse pulling parts for orders.  Don't knock it until you try it.  And those can start to open more doors along the way.

My father told me once, "You want to eat?  Get a Job!" 

Earlier someone indicated that you should open your geographic region. I agree.  You can take your parent with you IF they are totally dependent on you.  When you were totally dependent on your parents, Im sure that they didnt give so much thought to your preferences that it kept them from doing the right thing!

IF your parents had to choose between chronic underemployment/unemployment or staying put so that you wouldnt have to change schools midyear, ....

In the theme song for Green Acres, "You are my Wife,  Goodbye City Life!" 

You have to take care of yourself and your family, but likely the best way will be in a stable career that will allow you to provide for yourself and them.

[Vkw10]

At least in my CC,

Hamburger, it's time to stop thinking of this place as my employer. You need to move on and find other work, instead of waiting around, begging for whatever scraps they might throw you. Apply for jobs as a cashier, Amazon warehouse worker, office temp, anything that offers a weekly paycheck. Buy groceries, pay the electric bill, and apply for more appealing jobs after work. We used to call accepting that life isn't fair and that work isn't always fun, growing up. Lately, I've heard it called "adulting."

You mentioned that you don't enjoy applying for jobs, especially when you have to fill in online forms instead of just attaching a CV.  I agree, applying for jobs is not fun. Filling in forms is not fun. I can't think of anyone who's ever claimed to enjoy job hunting. Spend 8-10 hours a day, every day, applying for jobs anyway. You may not enjoy it, but it's the only way that most of us find work.