Faculty at the Columbus College of Art and Design are now working under a newly ratified union contract for the first time.
Workers first voted to unionize in 2023 and say the negotiation process went smoothly, resulting in the contract taking effect on Monday. The contract includes provisions for better wages, as well as worker protections and changes for a large population of adjunct professors at CCAD.
Sonya Fix, an associate professor of liberal arts, said the contract helps workers get better pay and adds worker protections. The contract also accomplished a big priority in helping adjunct professors. The Ohio Federation of Teachers said in a press release the percentage of adjunct professors at the college has increased to 73%.
"It's a lot of adjunct faculty who frankly are not paid very well and do a ton of important teaching work for the college. And then with fewer full-time faculty, it means full-type faculty. You're taking on a lot more of the service and mentoring," Fix said.
Fix said over the years, CCAD has relied a lot more on these sometimes part-time professors who aren't afforded an opportunity at tenure.
Thom Glick has been an adjunct professor in CCAD's illustration department for the last 15 years.
Glick said he teaches between one and two classes or two courses per semester. He said under the contract, CCAD has to hire adjunct professors for one year, rather than on a semester-by-semester system.
"I think a lot of faculty are kind of excited about how (the contract) creates more of a collaborative relationship with management. So as we start moving forward, it gives us a little bit more of a seat at the table to get involved in shared governance and have influence over academic matters," Glick said.
Fix agreed, saying she and her coworkers will benefit from the new contract. She said the college's management worked together with the faculty and didn't push back on their efforts to form a union and get a contract in place.
"It just is an uncertain time for higher ed in general, and so we have a lot more protections around our jobs that we consider our careers than we had before," Fix said.
