Professors in the Gig Economy: Unionizing Adjunct Faculty in America

The Uber-ization of the classroom and what it means for faculty.

One of the most significant trends in American higher education over the last decade has been the shift in faculty employment from tenured to contingent. Now upwards of 75% of faculty jobs are non-tenure track; two decades ago that figure was 25%. One of the results of this shift—along with the related degradation of pay, benefits, and working conditions—has been a new push to unionize adjunct professors, spawning a national la...