Around 30 part-time lecturers at Western Michigan University (WMU), unhappy with their low wages, held a protest on campus, Thursday.
They allege that their pay is much lower than other Michigan colleges and universities.
The university's minimum pay per credit hour is $750 plus a $20 wellness credit. As a result, they earn $2,310 to $3,308 for each class for the entire four-month semester. At WMU, a part-time lecturer can teach a maximum of nine credits per semester.
Whereas Kalamazoo Valley Community College's part time faculty wage starts from $787. Sometimes, additional compensations are also given. So, the overall salary might go up to $826.15 per credit hour.
"A barista at Starbucks has a better compensation package than a part-time professor with a master's degree or a PhD," Thomas Kostrzewa, president of the Professional Instructors Organization (PIO), the part-time faculty union at WMU, told Michigan Live.
Overall, the university comprises of 675 part-time faculties, who have taught 1,742 courses, which accounts for more than 125,000 credit hours, last year.
Currently, the part-time faculty members receive $780 in first year, $785 in second year and $790 in the third year.
Kevin Wordelman, the administrator for PIO, said that their goal is to convince the University for a pay of $800 in the first year itself, which would be at par with other sister universities.
Kostrzewa said that part-time faculty in the country is the most exploited of the university teaching department as the teachers are hired in large numbers to fill classrooms with no health or retirement benefits
Kelly O'Leary, co-president of the KVCC-FT, the community college's part-time faculty union, told the newspaper that the protestors can't compare a university to a community college. The WMU part-time faculty should negotiate with their management.
At the march, Ian Hollenbaugh, a senior, told the newspaper that it is not correct to pay them less than the rest for their services as these people are important to the university.
