I am very pleased that the New Mexico State Legislature, in response to advocacy from the American Federation of Teachers of New Mexico, decided to include higher education employees in their mandated 3% pay raise and subsequent 4% raise for April and July, respectively.
However, I am increasingly concerned that UNM’s administration is unwilling to meet in negotiations with our faculty union, United Academics of UNM (UA-UNM), to reach an agreement on the distribution of these funds to faculty, unless the negotiation sessions are closed to faculty observation, which violates our UA-UNM core values of transparency and inclusion. What are they afraid of — the light of day?
So far, UNM’s administration has only offered a 3% raise in April and has been publicly silent about a second 4% raise in July.
Experience suggests that UNM’s administration may have other plans for the additional 4%. In fact, Provost James Holloway mentioned in a Board of Regents meeting on Tuesday, March 22 an average 4% raise in July. If some get more than 4%, then some will receive less than 4%.
Several times in recent years, the administration provided raises that were smaller than those mandated by the legislature and governor.
I shall be very disappointed to receive less than the 7% budgeted by the legislature and signed by the governor. I am sure other faculty will feel likewise.
At a time when inflation is increasing, all of UNM’s excellent employees deserve to not have their purchasing power further eroded.
As a part-time, temporary instructor (PTI), I currently earn about $4,285 for teaching each three-unit course. Many other PTIs and adjuncts make less than $2,500 per course — mostly at branch campuses and in the College of Fine Arts. For a full-time teaching load, those PTIs and adjuncts currently make only about $20,000-25,000 per year (depending on workload). A 7% raise for them would amount to an increase of only $1,400-1,750 per year, probably not enough to offset increases in their families’ living costs.
For this reason, I strongly support a minimum pay level for PTIs and adjuncts. Without a living-wage minimum pay, many PTIs and adjunct faculty will fall further into the class of the working poor.
I hope that readers will agree with me that the entire amount allocated by the legislature for raises must go to all UNM faculty as an across-the-board 7% pay raise and that PTIs and adjunct faculty should be paid a living-wage minimum per course.
Faculty who are reading this now, if you agree with me, please raise your voice in support of these and other UA-UNM compensation requests. And if you’re not already a dues-paying member, join us at https://uaunm.org/. Together we are stronger!
In Solidarity,
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Billy Brown, Ph.D.
PTI mathematics & statistics for 15+ years, Albuquerque
Unit 2 vice president, UA-UNM
