About Us

After several years of listening to and participating in innumerable conversations about the below-poverty-line adjunct pay, a small group of college instructors realized that it was time to take action. Most were trying to survive on $20,000 a year without benefits, with no full time jobs in sight for quite a few years. All were enduring the effects of TABOR (Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights), which has resulted in drastic cuts to higher education funding in Colorado. Yet all these adjuncts have master's degrees, and some have PhD's.

As a result, our group met with Dave Mussetter (303-837-1500 x119), the higher education organizer from Colorado Education Association (CEA). He told them that in order to reach collective bargaining status; they needed to get 50% plus one more adjunct to join CEA, at $27 a month—too much for most, so the prospect of trying to get that many adjuncts to pay seemed impossible. Regardless, this small group started collecting personal e-mails of those interested in continuing the conversation of what to do about this dismal situation. That is how coloradoadjuncts@gmail.com was born, along with http://sites.google.com/site/coloradoadjunctswiki/home/about-us, and numerous conversations continue, with more names being collected along the way.

Members of this group have written to President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Channel 9 News. Senators Bennet and Udall, State Senator Rollie Heath, and State Representatives Matt Jones, Dickey Lee Hullinghorst and Don Beezley have received emails and letters from them as well. Recently, a member of the group met with Rep. Jones in Lafayette in order to raise community awareness of the plight of adjunct teachers. Meeting attendees were stunned to learn that community college adjuncts often qualify for food stamps and Medicaid, and that adjuncts constitute 70 to 80 percent of the teaching staff.

So as a result, everyone must write letters to the state legislators (see “Contact Your Local Legislators” and “Letter Templates” above). State Representatives and Senators must be informed of the living circumstances of the college adjuncts, all of which is the direct result of dismal state funding to Colorado’s state colleges and universities. 70% to 80% of students’ professors ought not to qualify for Food Stamps and Medicaid.

Onward and upward and welcome aboard!