The state of Washington has been moving toward more and more contract
labor. The legislature will not provide additional FTE's for new
employees, and no additional funding. By going to contracts, the
state is able to hire as many providers as they have dollars. The
dollars are stretched to cover more providers because there are no
fringe benefits and the contracts can be held to the same dollar level
year after year.
While there were certainly problems when services were provided by
state employees, at least there was the ability to review and improve
programs and services. But under the contracting system, despite
claims to the contrary, services are poorly monitored, if at all, and
supervision is spotty to nonexistent.
During our first several years contracting with the Department of
Services for the Blind, we had annual case reviews and full annual
audits. To my way of thinking, this gave us valuable information with
which to improve our services, as well as to assure us that we were
doing our job properly. I can't remember the last audit we had.
Maybe ten years ago? And our case review is done, if at all, on a
quick check of the computer records.
And, as Miriam said, it is the clients who get the short end.
To me, the message is loud and clear. The state of Washington has
little regard for those people providing services. Furthermore, the
State has little regard for those people requiring services.
Indeed, the state of Washington is not serving the people it claims to
be serving. Look at the highways and bridges. They are falling into
disrepair. Look at the Elderly and disabled. There is not enough low
income housing, medical services are insufficient, often times, in
rural areas, doctors and health services are not available. Higher
education is becoming more and more out of reach for the Working Class
citizens, with huge debts being assessed to graduates. The list is
endless. The fact is that the State is only serving the needs of the
wealthy citizens. And in fact, not all of those the State is serving
are citizens of this, or any state. Just follow the tax dollars and
see how many go into highway repair and mass transit, and how many tax
dollars go toward large private consultant fees and corporate
management costs.
I wonder what we call those who take a beating and never open their
mouths or raise a hand in their own defense. Dead People? Really
really dumb People: Brain washed People?
Carl Jarvis
Carl Jarvis
On 6/25/15, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
So this is happening to people with PhD's who want to teach in colleges and
universities. And in New York, those of us who were doing adoption home
studies on a private basis, became contract workers as rules changed and
studies needed to be certified by agencies. Before that final clamp down,
we
were competitors, fighting with each other to attract clients. Some of us
charged low rates, worked on a sort of assembly line basis, and did a less
than stellar job. The families and the children whom they adopted, were the
victims. Some of us charged more, maintained high professional standards,
and had fewer clients as a result. All the work on a properly conducted
study took at least 10 hours. But fees varied widely. Then the adoption
agencies were given the power to dictate how much we could charge. There
were very few situations in which we could do private home studies on our
own. The paperwork increased and the fees were capped. Never, were there
any
fringe benefits of any kind. And by the time I retired, one no longer felt
that at least, one was an independent agent. That was no longer true. All
of
this came about because of the successful lobbying of a powerful
organization representing adoption agencies. And the excuse given, was that
it was being done for the welfare of children. In fact, as paperwork and
rules increased, the protections for children and families decreased
because
the individual professional responsibility of social workers for their work
was devalued.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2015 11:45 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Adjunct Professor Teaches 5 Classes, Earns Less
Than Pet-Sitter | PopularResistance.Org
How many jobs, transferred to contract employment, will it take before
Americans wake up to the fact that the Working Class is getting screwed?
By, "Working Class", I mean Blue Collar, White Collar, Manual Labor and
Office Labor. Included are also many mid and upper management jobs. The
operative phrase for "Screwing Americans", is, Contract Labor.
Contracts open a wonderful opportunity for Corporations to pass off all
costs, risks, losses, health benefits, and operating fees to the
contractee.
I have no idea how long ago it began, or with whom, but I've watched cab
companies, trucking companies, logging companies, and corporations such as
Boeing and Microsoft turn more and more to contract labor.
Companies that once owned and services fleets of vehicles, now contract
with
folks who are expected to own and maintain their own vehicles. The company
is absolved of all responsibility and liability. The Post Office contracts
out its rural routes. Low b bid is awarded the contract. The only fringe
benefit is a guarantee that you will have the job until a new contract, and
someone underbids you.
Over the years we have had a number of retired folks taking up the grueling
six day a week grind in order to supplement a pension or social security.
When Corporations talk up the wonderful benefits of contract employment,
think instead in terms of Down Sizing the Income of Americas Working Force.
Contracts put more profit in the pockets of Corporations. Profit that is
seldom plowed back into the community where it was taken from. Profit that
usually finds it's way into off-shore banks or the bulging pockets of
billionaires.
Contract labor is working hard to make the rich even richer. Longer hours,
lower pay. The rich man's wet dream.
But while we're shedding tears for the plight of this adjunct professor,
and
so many others just like him, let's not forget the students who are being
cheated, too. And charged increasingly outrageous fees for the privilege.
It appears this is one way of educating them to what will be their fate
once
out of school.
Once Americans understand that it will only get worse, they may finally
identify the cause, and begin to eliminate it.
And what is the cause of this downward spiral in Americans standard of
living?
In a word, it is Greed. Eliminate Greed and we are on the road to
recovery.
Eliminating Greed is far easier than we make it out to be.
First, we simply stop producing for the Corporations, without an equal
share
in the profits. Secondly, we set five year limits on the existence of all
Corporations. Each five years they must show how they have benefited
America, and ask for a renewal for another five years.
I'd go further, but that would be a decent beginning.
Carl Jarvis
On 6/25/15, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Adjunct Professor Teaches 5 Classes, Earns Less Than Pet-Sitter |adjuncts.
PopularResistance.Org pf-core frame
Adjunct Professor Teaches 5 Classes, Earns Less Than Pet-Sitter |
PopularResistance.Org frame popularresistance.org
https://www.popularresistance.org/adjunct-professor-teaches-5-classes-
earns-
less-than-pet-sitter/
Adjunct Professor Teaches 5 Classes, Earns Less Than Pet-Sitter
It's hard out here for an academic. Really, really hard. Photo by
National Adjunct Walkout Day
It's hard out here for an academic. Really, really hard. Photo by
National Adjunct Walkout Day
Like most university teachers today, I am a low-paid contract worker.
Now and then, a friend will ask: "Have you tried dog-walking on the
side?" I have. Pet care, I can reveal, takes massive attention, energy
and driving time. I'm friends with a full-time, professionally
employed pet-sitter who's done it for years, never topping $26,000
annually and never receiving health or other benefits.
The reason I field such questions is that, as an adjunct professor,
whether teaching undergraduate or law-school courses, I make much less
than a pet-sitter earns. This year I'm teaching five classes (15
credit hours, roughly comparable to the teaching loads of some
tenure-track law or business school instructors). At $3,000 per
course, I'll pull in $15,000 for the year. I work year-round, 20 to 30
hours weekly - teaching, developing courses and drafting syllabi,
offering academic advice, recommendation letters and course extensions
for students who need them. As I write, in late June, my students are
wrapping up their final week of the first summer term, and the second
summer term will begin next week.
I receive no benefits, no office, no phone or stipend for the basic
communication demands of teaching. I keep constant tabs on the media I
use in my classes; if I exhaust my own 10GB monthly data plan early, I
lose vital time for online discussions with my students. This,
although the university requires my students to engage in discussions
about legal issues and ethics six days a week, and I must guide as
well as grade these discussions.
Three of my Philadelphia-area friends are adjuncts with doctorate
degrees.
One keeps moving to other states for temporary teaching posts. The
others teach at multiple sites to keep afloat financially - one at no
less than seven colleges and universities.
Having heard all my life about solid "government job" benefits, I
figured I might have more stability, and still be able to handle
teaching, if I worked for the Post Office. I started carrying mail in
early January. As a City Carrier Assistant, I earned less pay than
regular postal carriers do, though I did more than "assist": my job
was to handle absentee carriers'
routes. I had no medical insurance, no sick leave allowance and had to
agree to work as much as managers deemed necessary for 360 consecutive
days (whereupon I could sign up for a second 360-day contract, with no
promise that it would bring me any closer to a permanent job offer). I
worked on Sundays too, under the US Postal Service's contract with
Amazon.com. With human flaws - I fell on ice more than once - I was no
match for the drones Amazon intends to deploy. After two months on the
job, which was long enough to develop a lifetime fear of Rottweilers,
I was behind in my university work. I turned in my cap.
In late March, I started a retail job. It offers real days off, and I
expect to be eligible for health and dental benefits soon.
Last week, a friend came in to shop, saw me, and exclaimed, loud
enough for all to hear: "What are you doing here?" Friends who know I
hold two law degrees and teach at a university can't fathom that my
teaching doesn't cover rent. Some writers have discussed adjuncts
waiting tables or bagging groceries alongside their students as though
it's the ultimate degradation. I see things differently.
I'm trained by the people who deliver parcels, serve meals and bag
groceries and who might, any day, apply to take my courses. I am their
equal, and I know it at a level most established faculty members do
not.
Faculty members do not even interact with each other as equals. Most
adjuncts aren't included in regular faculty meetings, let alone
conferences where ideas are exchanged and explored. A concept called
the inclusive fees campaign seeks to make conferences affordable for
(It focuses on PhDs, but could encompass teachers whose positionsthis planet.
require law degrees or other alternative qualifications.)
"Inclusivity" for a systematically exploited group is only a patch.
But it's good to see established professors challenged to acknowledge
contingent workers, who now comprise the preponderance of the faculty
community. Yes, of the 1.2m instructional staff appointments in US
higher education, 76% - more than 900,000 - are now contingent.
We are working for institutions that claim to open doors to career
opportunities even as they etch contingency into their hiring practices.
The
significance of the inclusive fees campaign lies in its implicit
question:
how will the schools hear our voices over the silence of the tenured?
Even more daunting than the dearth of dollars is the fragmentation of
the adjunct's time. Recently, an editor at the University of Oregon
School of Law asked if I'd be a conference panelist. Can I travel, yet
still clock enough hours at my second job to stay above the threshold
for health insurance?
Every day I live two people's lives, and it's fatiguing. Every day I
need more time with students while being pulled away from them.
The best that could come of the adjunct crisis is a teaching community
broadly committed to the civility and inclusivity we've been missing.
This could lead to a new kind of education, based not on ranking, not
on status, but on genuine guidance for living with decency and respect on
adjuncts.
A conference on this is well overdue - and I don't want to miss it
while watching the time clock.
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Adjunct Professor Teaches 5 Classes, Earns Less Than Pet-Sitter
It's hard out here for an academic. Really, really hard. Photo by
National Adjunct Walkout Day
It's hard out here for an academic. Really, really hard. Photo by
National Adjunct Walkout Day
Like most university teachers today, I am a low-paid contract worker.
Now and then, a friend will ask: "Have you tried dog-walking on the
side?" I have. Pet care, I can reveal, takes massive attention, energy
and driving time. I'm friends with a full-time, professionally
employed pet-sitter who's done it for years, never topping $26,000
annually and never receiving health or other benefits.
The reason I field such questions is that, as an adjunct professor,
whether teaching undergraduate or law-school courses, I make much less
than a pet-sitter earns. This year I'm teaching five classes (15
credit hours, roughly comparable to the teaching loads of some
tenure-track law or business school instructors). At $3,000 per
course, I'll pull in $15,000 for the year. I work year-round, 20 to 30
hours weekly - teaching, developing courses and drafting syllabi,
offering academic advice, recommendation letters and course extensions
for students who need them. As I write, in late June, my students are
wrapping up their final week of the first summer term, and the second
summer term will begin next week.
I receive no benefits, no office, no phone or stipend for the basic
communication demands of teaching. I keep constant tabs on the media I
use in my classes; if I exhaust my own 10GB monthly data plan early, I
lose vital time for online discussions with my students. This,
although the university requires my students to engage in discussions
about legal issues and ethics six days a week, and I must guide as
well as grade these discussions.
Three of my Philadelphia-area friends are adjuncts with doctorate
degrees.
One keeps moving to other states for temporary teaching posts. The
others teach at multiple sites to keep afloat financially - one at no
less than seven colleges and universities.
Having heard all my life about solid "government job" benefits, I
figured I might have more stability, and still be able to handle
teaching, if I worked for the Post Office. I started carrying mail in
early January. As a City Carrier Assistant, I earned less pay than
regular postal carriers do, though I did more than "assist": my job
was to handle absentee carriers'
routes. I had no medical insurance, no sick leave allowance and had to
agree to work as much as managers deemed necessary for 360 consecutive
days (whereupon I could sign up for a second 360-day contract, with no
promise that it would bring me any closer to a permanent job offer). I
worked on Sundays too, under the US Postal Service's contract with
Amazon.com. With human flaws - I fell on ice more than once - I was no
match for the drones Amazon intends to deploy. After two months on the
job, which was long enough to develop a lifetime fear of Rottweilers,
I was behind in my university work. I turned in my cap.
In late March, I started a retail job. It offers real days off, and I
expect to be eligible for health and dental benefits soon.
Last week, a friend came in to shop, saw me, and exclaimed, loud
enough for all to hear: "What are you doing here?" Friends who know I
hold two law degrees and teach at a university can't fathom that my
teaching doesn't cover rent. Some writers have discussed adjuncts
waiting tables or bagging groceries alongside their students as though
it's the ultimate degradation. I see things differently.
I'm trained by the people who deliver parcels, serve meals and bag
groceries and who might, any day, apply to take my courses. I am their
equal, and I know it at a level most established faculty members do
not.
Faculty members do not even interact with each other as equals. Most
adjuncts aren't included in regular faculty meetings, let alone
conferences where ideas are exchanged and explored. A concept called
the inclusive fees campaign seeks to make conferences affordable for
(It focuses on PhDs, but could encompass teachers whose positionsthis planet.
require law degrees or other alternative qualifications.)
"Inclusivity" for a systematically exploited group is only a patch.
But it's good to see established professors challenged to acknowledge
contingent workers, who now comprise the preponderance of the faculty
community. Yes, of the 1.2m instructional staff appointments in US
higher education, 76% - more than 900,000 - are now contingent.
We are working for institutions that claim to open doors to career
opportunities even as they etch contingency into their hiring practices.
The
significance of the inclusive fees campaign lies in its implicit
question:
how will the schools hear our voices over the silence of the tenured?
Even more daunting than the dearth of dollars is the fragmentation of
the adjunct's time. Recently, an editor at the University of Oregon
School of Law asked if I'd be a conference panelist. Can I travel, yet
still clock enough hours at my second job to stay above the threshold
for health insurance?
Every day I live two people's lives, and it's fatiguing. Every day I
need more time with students while being pulled away from them.
The best that could come of the adjunct crisis is a teaching community
broadly committed to the civility and inclusivity we've been missing.
This could lead to a new kind of education, based not on ranking, not
on status, but on genuine guidance for living with decency and respect on
A conference on this is well overdue - and I don't want to miss it
while watching the time clock.
Adjunct Professor Teaches 5 Classes, Earns Less Than Pet-Sitter |
PopularResistance.Org f
