Even as we begin to adapt to the shift to remote instruction, Berkeley faculty know how much time and energy have been involved in transforming our pedagogy-and how much time it has taken away from other activities, especially research. Yet as tough as the adaptation has been for Senate faculty, it’s been even tougher for the lecturers on our campus, who teach some 40% of student credit hours. As it is, many are having to teach from cramped quarters and with limited technology.
Lecturers are out of contract, and their union (UC-AFT) is trying to negotiate a new contract with the UC administration. One of the biggest issues is the amount of unpaid labor lecturers perform: writing letters of recommendation, holding extra office hours, supervising readers, mentoring, providing career advice and emotional support to students, sponsoring DeCal classes, engaging in professional development, serving on committees. The transition to remote learning has required lecturers to undertake many more hours of unpaid labor.
As they look to the next academic year, lecturers face the possibility that their jobs will be not just online but on the line, especially if student enrollments fall and departments have to cut back on courses. Even if there is not a reduction in enrollments, there will almost certainly be a reduction of the temporary budget (TAS), out of which lecturers are funded. If lecturer positions are eliminated, will Senate faculty be required to teach more students and more courses? How will we then be able to resume our research?
Tenure-track faculty have every interest in supporting their more precarious colleagues, especially in these times of crisis. Supporting better working conditions for lecturers is not only a matter of principle, but crucial to maintaining Berkeley’s excellence as a public research university.
Michael Burawoy and Celeste Langan for the Berkeley Faculty Association