Transforming Higher Education

Movement Milestones and Victories

We’re working to improve learning and teaching conditions and access to higher education, while standing up to end the trend toward a low-road, corporate-business model for education. More than 50,000 faculty and graduate workers are already united through SEIU Faculty Forward. Every day more educators, students and community members across the country are joining our fight to transform higher education. Here’s a look at what we’ve accomplished together so far.

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Lake-Sumter State College adjuncts vote YES for their union

Adjunct professors at Lake-Sumter State College kicked off the end of semester celebrations with a bang as they voted decisively to form their union with SEIU Florida Public Services Union (FPSU). They’re the sixth group of adjuncts to form their union in Florida as part of the growing push for increased investment in the state’s colleges and universities.

“Today, we have taken an important step towards achieving fairness at Lake-Sumter State College,” said Joseph Silver, an adjunct professor who teaches biological sciences at Lake-Sumter State College. “Adjuncts teach the majority of classes at Lake-Sumter, yet many of us can’t cover the basics. It’s time for us to come together and ensure that adjunct faculty can earn a living, while providing students a great education.”

Adjunct faculty at Lake-Sumter State College are some of the poorest paid adjunct professors in Florida, with professors earning 12% below the state median. In winning their union, Lake-Sumter State College faculty join their colleagues at Hillsborough Community College, Broward College, University of South Florida, Seminole State College and Miami Dade College who have already formed their unions with SEIU Faculty Forward in Florida.

“We congratulate our adjunct colleagues for winning their union election and look forward to working together to make Lake-Sumter a better institution for our wonderful students,” said Debby Hicks, a full-time professor and one of the leaders of the full-time faculty union campaign at Lake-Sumter State College. “All faculty members, whether adjuncts or full-time, deserve to have direct representation to address the issues that matter most: making sure our students get the best education possible.”

Read more in the Daily Commercial and twitter.