Adjunct instructors at the USC School of Cinematic Arts are seeking to form a union, citing concerns about low pay and a recent move to drop health coverage.
Organizers say that 75% of the 248 adjunct faculty members have signed on to the drive to join the UAW. They are seeking voluntary recognition from the university.
The cinema school relies heavily on adjunct professors, who are typically working Hollywood professionals. According to the organizers, more than 70% of the instructors are adjuncts, compared to just 20% in the 1970s.
Adjuncts who teach two classes make around $22,000 a year. Many teach courses there because they are also eligible for health insurance. But the organizers say that the university has recently started cutting second classes, so that instructors no longer qualify.
The faculty are seeking increased pay and a path to full-time and tenured positions.
“One student pays more money to take my class than I am paid to teach it,” said Peter Gamble Robinson, who teaches screenwriting. “We’d like to be able to make a living.”
Katy Garretson, who teaches production, said that USC pays less than other film schools in L.A., and that qualified instructors often go elsewhere. She said that the school sometimes hires recent USC grads to teach courses.
“USC is trying to make adjuncts gig workers,” Garretson said. “SCA has long been held up to the world as the best cinema school anywhere. I’m afraid it may be living on its past reputation because the educators at the cinema school are not being taken care of.”
In a statement, the USC School of Cinematic Arts said it appreciates its adjunct faculty and does not see a need for a “third party” to get involved in the employment relationship.
“The School of Cinematic Arts highly values our adjunct professors who are invaluable to our mission,” the school stated. “They bring a wealth of expertise, experience and currency to the school and enhance our students’ educational experience. We also appreciate and respect thedirect, collegial, and cooperative relationship we have with our adjunct professorsand their participation in shared governance.We do not believe they need a third party to speak for them.We remain committedto continuing toprovide faircompensation and will continue to directly respond to their concerns and needs as they arise.”
The organizing drive comes on the heels of the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which many of the faculty participated in. It also follows a successful effort by the UAW to organize about 3,200 grad students who work as teaching and research assistants at USC.
The graduate students reached a tentative agreement with the university on Sunday, averting a strike.
The UAW also represents adjunct faculty at New York University and the New School in New York. At the New School, adjuncts won a significant pay increase after a three-week strike last year.
At USC, the Service Employees International Union led efforts to unionize adjuncts in 2016. The university challenged the organization of faculty at the Roski School of Art and Design before the National Labor Relations Board, arguing that the adjuncts’ participation in shared governance made them supervisors who are ineligible for union representation. SEIU ultimately withdrew its effort to organize those adjuncts.
