Unlike their tenured and tenure-track counterparts, part-time lecturers at Eastern Michigan University did not receive their paychecks on September 15. The 600 part-time lecturers teach 40 percent of the university’s credit hours.
To call attention to this injustice, members of the EMU Federation of Teachers, Local 9102, held an event to draw attention to this issue and engage students in its solution.
They asked students to spin a “Wheel of Misfortune,” which allowed students to see the choices their teachers might have to make because they didn’t receive a paycheck — things like not buying groceries for their families or paying their electrical bills. There was also a “No Pay Day Puppet Show.”
Most importantly, part-time lecturers spent time have one-on-one conversations with students to discuss the consequences of the university choosing not to pay teachers on time.
