Part-time lecturers at Eastern Michigan University have filed for a representation election with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC). A majority of these lecturers have joined the Eastern Michigan University Federation of Teachers (EMUFT), which already represents full-time lecturers at EMU. Part-time lecturers, who call themselves the Adjunct Lecturers' Organizing Committee (ALOC), filed an accretion petition and membership cards with MERC on Dec. 9, 2009.

"For me, one of the central goals for bringing part-time lecturers into the EMUFT is to secure the fundamental right of all teachers to have a determining voice in the conditions under which we work," says Mark Wenzel, a part-time lecturer in the History and Philosophy department. "The adjuncts who comprise 36 percent of EMU teachers and teach one-third of its contact hours do not have job security," he adds.  "If we think highly of our students, we'll cherish their teachers."

Full-time lecturers, who number about 98 and are represented by EMUFT, say they are eager to have their part-time colleagues as fellow union members. ALOC estimates EMU employs approximately 450 part-timers every semester.  "Part-time lecturers teach hundreds of undergraduate and some graduate courses at EMU as well as provide Internet-based and off-site instruction," says Karen Kramer Soebbing, a full-time lecturer in the College of Education and a member of EMUFT. "In some cases, part-time lecturers' work hours exceed the university's requirements for ‘full-time' employment. Many have worked for the university for 10, 20 and even 30 years. They deserve much more."

"Because adjuncts often have non-academic professions, they bring real world, practical experience to the EMU classroom," says geographer and part-time lecturer," Tom Wagner. This experience serves students well in preparing for future employment.

ALOC would be joining the ranks of other non-tenure-track employee unions in Michigan. Like the unions at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University, ALOC/EMUFT is affiliated with AFT Michigan.