AFA
Frequently Asked Questions

No. URI Adjunct Faculty have their own union, with their own collective bargaining agreement, constitution and officers. The Adjunct Faculty union and the full-time faculty union are two independent chapters.

Inclusion in the bargaining unit is automatic and is based upon whether you an adjunct faculty member teaching 3 or 4 credit classes.

No. Although you are represented by URI AFA, you are not automatically a member in the Adjunct Faculty Association. Membership in AFA requires that you sign a membership card to become a member of the union. This membership entitles AFA chapter members to participate in local chapter activities including: the right to hold union office, the right to vote on internal union matters, the right to serve on union standing and ad hoc committees, the right to participate in internal union matters, and the right to participate in all membership voting.

Article VIII of the contract provides the opportunity for you to review your personnel file at any time. You are entitled to make copies of any documents in the file and you may also add information or documents to the file. If you wish, you may ask an AFA representative to be present when you review your file.

Article XI, "Salaries," stipulates the minimum salary you will receive for teaching a course on any URI campus. Decide your PTF level and then determine where your course falls on the per-credit salary chart. If you're teaching a 4 credit course, multiply the number in the chart by four. This is the minimum salary you will be paid. As indicated in the Contact, the University may always pay more than the minimum salary. A link to view the new wage amounts can be seen here.

The Union contract includes a formal procedure for part-time faculty to file a grievance against unfair practices. The grievance procedure is found in Article XIII of the contract. A grievance must violate some specific provision of the Contract. As the Agreement states: "A grievance means any difference or dispute between the Board and the Association or between the Board and any employee with respect to the interpretation, application, or violation of any of the provisions of the Agreement." Because filing a grievance has step-by-step procedures, with deadlines, it is important to contact URI AFA as soon as a grievance occurs-it is important to start the clock right away. Individuals often file grievances, but a group of faculty, or PTFU as a whole, can also file grievances when multiple faculty are affected.

The membership of the URI Adjunct Faculty union determines its own proposals and selects its own negotiating committee. The entire AFA membership is asked to vote "yes" or "no" on the terms and conditions of a proposed collective bargaining agreement.

Work-related entitlements stipulated in the contact include access to: office space, parking privileges, email accounts, direct deposit, staff support and service, instructional media facilities, and use of duplicating equipment.

Other provisions include: Academic Freedom; seniority rights (time-in-service) based upon the number of 3 or 4 credit courses you have taught; and salary based advancement levels from PTF I through PTF III which carry with them higher salary increments at each level.

Part-time faculty have formed collective bargaining unions across the country including: City University of New York, Emerson College in Boston, University of Maine, New York University, Rutgers, University of San Francisco, Roosevelt University in Chicago, Columbia College, the New School, George Washington University, Syracuse University, and many others.

The strength of the URI Part-Time Faculty United union rests with its membership. We urge you to become an active participant in union activities. Only union members can cast ballots in union officer elections, contract ratification votes, and run for union office. If you want to vote on union issues, you have to be a paid member of the Union. If you are not a voting member of the URI AFA, please join today.

The AFA Union office is located in Pastore Hall Rm, 258, 51 Lower College Road on the main campus in Kingston. You may contact the AFA office at: Tel: 401-874-4481; Email: uri.ptfu@gmail.com