Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1535219
IN THEIR OWN WORDS Seija Rohkea: "It's so mean- ingful to have this case and be able to help future adjuncts. Even the word adjunct is demeaning because it means 'temporary.' We're seen as temporary even though we are 80% of the faculty in some col- leges. I would love to see that changed so this work is seen as a career." Karen Roberts: "As part-tim- ers, we cite (precedent-setting court case) Cervisi all the time to apply for unemployment benefits, so now others might cite Roberts v. Long Beach CCD. That's kind of amazing. I feel really proud." "When I was president of CHI for about eight years, I kept finding creative ways to tell the Board of Trustees they weren't paying us for anything we were doing out- side the classroom and we were working for free," Roberts says. "I got tired of hear- ing ridiculous things like 'you can do your syllabus during class.'" LBCC and other community colleges require part-time instructors to work many hours performing teaching-related work outside of the classroom, including time spent planning lectures, grading and performing other instructional activities that are necessar y to teach a course. Col leges al so e valuat e th e w ork p er - formance of these instructors based on their teaching-related work outside of the classroom despite not paying them for those hours worked. The court rul- ing found that these faculty members are not exempt from minimum wage laws, and they should be paid at least th e minimum wage for each of those uncompensated hours. "e judge affirmed that we are being exploited," says Rohkea, who now works full time at Fullerton College in a classi- fied role in addition to teaching at LBCC. "It's so validating that someone in the legal system agrees with our case." Community College Association (CCA) President Eric Kaljumägi attended some of the hearings along with CCA Vice Pres- ident Randa Wahbe. Kaljumägi says this ruling is a step in the right direction for equity for part-time faculty. "While this lawsuit only modestly dents the dramatic pay inequity in the college system, I am glad to see that Roberts and Rohkea have prevailed," Kaljumägi says. " The Long Beach decision makes clear that to be exempt from minimum wage laws as a professional, you must earn a professional wage — one that is specified in regulation as at least double what a full-time worker at minimum wage would make. At present, Long Beach part-time faculty do not meet this salary threshold (a little under $69,000) even if they were legally permitted to teach full-time loads both academic semesters." Winning Respect and Fighting Exploitation With th e college ruled to be at fault, attention turns to the next phase of the trial (a trial setting status conference is scheduled in early April) where the rem- edy will be determined. CTA legal staff said that they are requesting compensa- tory damages for the impacted members, who could see back pay and benefits for unpaid hours of work as far back as 2020 — potentially, tens of thousands of dollars for previously unpaid work. But with the decision setting a legal precedent that may benefit part-time fac- ulty across the state, Roberts and Rohkea both say this is about more than money. "I'm hoping that when CHI goes into b a rga i n i n g , m ay b e i t 's n o t b u si n e ss as usual and we're treated with more respect," Roberts says. "At times when I was scared, (our CTA staff attorney) kept saying ' how would it feel if you could help set a legal prece- dent?' ose words were so encouraging," Rohkea adds. "I don't know what we're going to get financially. Will we get some- thing? Yes, but that's not why we did this." Over the years, California community college districts have increasingly turned to part-time, or adjunct, faculty to teach students and support learning — adjunct faculty teach up to 75% of all community college classes in some districts. These part-time faculty are required to hold the same minimum educational qualifica- tions as their full-time counterparts but are deemed temporary and have little job security. "One of the greatest inequities in education today is that of part-time college professor pay. Part-time faculty will benefit from this ruling, but our struggle for pay equity is not over." —CCA President Eric Kaljumägi 29 M AY 2 0 2 5