Session 27: Not to be ministered unto, but to minister
April 7, 2025 at 7:15PM - A brief update
In the time since we sent our update, you may have received an email from the College. We are disappointed that the College is now resorting to blatant lies in their communications to the community. At no point in our bargaining session did we state we intended to eradicate pay differences between non-tenure-track faculty and tenured and tenure-track faculty. In fact, the one time a reference to tenure-track faculty was made by the College, our team responded by saying we have no intention of pitting tenure-track and tenured faculty against non-tenure faculty.
A quick glance at our compensation proposal will provide you with a fact-check. We have increasingly responded to the College’s alleged financial uncertainty and at no point made pay parity with tenure a goal in bargaining.
We are disappointed that we have come to expect this type of distorted representation from the College in their recent communications.
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Original Update
In a stunning moment during our 27th bargaining session, the College had no answer to a basic question around one of our most critical disagreements: “what problem are you trying to solve at Wellesley by increasing our teaching load from four to five courses?” After a period of silence, the College declined to provide an explanation and instead said they would get back to us on Thursday.
Bargaining Committee member, Katie Hall (‘84), passionately defended our position:
I wonder if you understand what it takes to be a good teacher at Wellesley, we don’t just write on a board for an hour and go home. We mentor – students come to our office hours, they want advice on how to make it through here, how to choose their majors, what schools they're going to go to. We are integral to the fabric of this college – you can see how the students feel about us. They have no idea who is TT and who is NTT. And we teach here and put up with these conditions because we love the students and we love our colleagues. To be paying the rate that you’re paying for what has traditionally been women’s work at this college is really disappointing. And now we sit here and listen to this conversation that devalues what we bring to the college. It's really disappointing and we’re tired of it. We can’t even get an answer to why the 5 course load is necessary.
In the College’s packages there was some minimal movement on Professional Development, Housing, Grievance and Arbitration, Union Security, and Compensation, but all still contingent on a 5-course load. We reached a tentative agreement on Dining (students get two more passes to bring a guest to a dining hall). As always, you can find all passed proposals on our proposal tracker here.
On Mediation
At the end of our session, the College asked for the Union to agree to mediation. We have been increasingly responsive to the College in an attempt to reach a complete agreement, and we do not see the addition of a third-party as leading to more productive discussion. Over the course of eleven months of bargaining, we have reduced our compensation proposal by about $8 million. In contrast, the College has only increased their compensation by around $442,000. Our current Compensation proposal would increase the College’s salary expenditures by $2.9 million, which is 1.1% of the operating budget. In contrast, the College’s current Compensation proposal would increase expenditures by $663,000 or 0.25% of the operating budget. We are making significant movement in an effort to reach an agreement. While the College has claimed to make significant movement with a generous offer, contingent on a five-course teaching load for future hires, the data speaks for itself.
The College cannot answer our most basic questions about their desire to fundamentally alter the teaching structure at Wellesley or their refusal to substantially increase NTT base salaries. A third-party will not give the College answers to our questions, and our members demand that the College explain their positions directly. In order to reach an agreement, we need the College to answer and justify their positions and to be responsive to the demands and movement made by the Union.
College’s Accreditation Scheme Hurts Students
The College is running out of time to undo their 0.5 course credit scheme. What happens if the College is unable to get NTTs back into the classroom? The College plans to have department chairs assign students’ grades on the basis of the coursework they had completed prior to the strike. This proposal is disastrous for students, who will be graded by someone who has not been in the classroom with them, and not fair to our tenured colleagues. In some courses, students have only completed 20% of the work being used to determine their grades. In others, the most substantive assignments are at the end of the semester to ensure students are evaluated on their understanding and grasp of the course material, which takes time. The College’s reticence to settle a fair contract directly undermines our students. Seniors’ job prospects will be marred by these artificially low grades. Continuing students will have only ⅔ of the education they need to progress in their majors. How could a student succeed in Chem 205 if they’ve only finished ⅔ of Chem 105?
A personal message from alum and bargaining committee member, Katie Hall (‘84):
We NTT faculty at Wellesley are central to and personally invested in the success of our students. We are proud to contribute to the unique learning atmosphere here. There is something special about Wellesley, and all of us who are alums know it. I came back to teach here in 2017 because I wanted an opportunity to give to future students what Wellesley gave to me: an unparalleled education, a life-long community of strong women, a belief that I could do anything I put my mind to, and a desire to make the world a better place. What I remember most about my years as an undergrad are the people – the friends I made, the professors who mentored me, the staff I worked with in my work-study assignments. Wellesley has the most beautiful campus in the world, but what makes the College great is the people.
It was hard for me to join the union bargaining committee because I didn’t want to take positions opposing the administration here. But I had Madeleine Albright’s words in mind, “that there is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women” and joined because I found it hypocritical that Wellesley College was exploiting an inherently sexist hierarchy to underpay NTT faculty who perform what has traditionally been considered “woman’s work” (teaching as opposed to research). I feel like Wellesley raised me to stand up to sexism in all its forms.
I anticipated the College pushing back on paying NTT faculty higher salaries, but I never could have anticipated some of their other positions. From refusing NOT to discriminate against NTT faculty based on marital status and reproductive health conditions, to suggesting a racially insensitive new title of “Master Lecturer,” to altering the very fabric of the community that makes Wellesley special by reducing students’ personal access to 30% of the faculty. The administration is seeking to fundamentally change what makes Wellesley, Wellesley. While the College has stepped back from their initial position on discrimination and titles, they continue to insist on an increased workload that they are unable to justify and which we know will negatively impact students. I, along with many NTT faculty, TT faculty, staff, and perhaps most importantly students, are standing up to Wellesley and asking her to live up to her values and lead the way.
We need your help
On March 18, we announced our strike date (March 27), and since March 18, the College has only agreed to meet for 12 hours. In those hours, the College has failed to explain and justify key disagreements. The Union continues to be responsive where we can, when the College provides a basis for disagreement. However, we cannot allow the College to fundamentally alter the educational experience at Wellesley simply because they want to match “market-rates,” which underpay educators for what has been traditionally considered “women’s work.”
We need you now to urge the College to do the right thing. Every day that passes, students lose the education they were promised. Here’s what you can do to help:
Everyone:
Continue calling and emailing the President, Provost, and Board of Trustees every day to demand a four course teaching load, fair compensation, and job security so that we can reach an agreement.
Join us on the picket line every weekday!
Alums:
Don’t cross our picket line! Let the College know that you will not attend events or reunion unless we reach an agreement.
If you want help organizing or connecting with other alum, email woaw.uaw@gmail.com and we will connect you
Parents:
Continue calling and emailing the President, Provost, and Board of Trustees every day to demand a refund for your child’s lost education and to demand they reach an agreement that maintains the quality of education Wellesley has promised.