Broward College Overwhelmingly Votes to Form a Contingent Faculty Union
At 1,700 eligible faculty members, the unit becomes the largest SEIU contingent faculty union in the country
Today, Broward College contingent faculty voted 11-1 to form their union. With 92 percent voting in favor of the union, they became the second Florida college and the fifty-first institution nationwide to form a contingent faculty union with SEIU. At nearly 1,700 eligible faculty members, the Broward College unit is also the largest.
“As a Broward College adjunct professor for more than fifteen years, I’m so proud that we came together to form our union and finally have a real voice at work,” said Alice Wujciak, a Broward College adjunct professor. “Now that we have a seat at the table, I’m confident we can start to win the changes to compensation, job security and student learning conditions we need.”
The Broward College union vote signals growing interest among Florida college and university faculty to reform the broader higher education system. It comes as contingent faculty at Hillsborough Community College are negotiating their first contract and contingent faculty at the University of South Florida push for an election in the face of staunch employer opposition.
“Today we’re joining with our colleagues at Broward College and across Florida to stand up for higher education,” said Michelle DeMarco, a Broward College adjunct professor. “By coming together in our union, we’re building our ability to fight to make teaching jobs good jobs, to improve the classroom for our students and ensure that higher education gets the funding needed to make it accessible and affordable for all.”
SEIU Florida Public Services Union President Alphonso Mayfield congratulated the Broward College Adjunct Faculty members, saying, “It is outrageous that the people tasked with building a future for our young people are struggling to make ends meet. This is a proud moment for our adjunct faculty members who are determined to change the working conditions in our institutes of higher learning. Together, as part of the union family, we will work to ensure that our hardworking families get living wages, good benefits, and safe work conditions.”
