The Benefits and Limitations of Contingent Faculty Unionization: A Comparison of a Union and Non-Union Institution

Abstract

While union membership has declined over the last several decades, there has been a recent surge in union organizing among contingent faculty—non-tenure-track faculty who tend to experience low wages and job insecurity. Based on interviews with 100 contingent faculty at two large public research universities—one where contingent faculty are unionized, and one where they are not—this article demonstrates that contingent faculty at the unionized institution experience higher job satisfaction, greater job security, and higher wages than those at the non-unionized university, but that the union still faces some limitations in improving contingent faculty jobs.