Shoreline Community College faculty join walk out to protest lack of state funding for faculty salaries

Shoreline CC faculty and supporters march
to call attention to low wages and lack of job security
at community colleges.
Photo by Mike Remarcke

Shoreline Community College faculty and supporters joined the three Seattle Community Colleges and Port Angeles' Peninsula College in walking out on Tuesday to call attention to the low wages and lack of state funding for the two-year community colleges.

According to Laurel Ecke, who teaches at Shoreline and Seattle,

"...the state of community colleges is bleak: over 70% of faculty are adjuncts, we have quarter-to-quarter contracts, minimal job security, and dismal pay. 

"Adjunct faculty are often forced to teach at multiple colleges, take additional part-time jobs, and file for unemployment over breaks. Classes can be cancelled at the last minute, leaving faculty struggling to pay their rent.  

"Our full-time counterparts are struggling too."

Protestors line up at 160th and Aurora
Photo by Mike Remarcke

SCC held a teach-in on campus in the morning, and then marched down to 160th and Aurora in the afternoon.

The Times reports that,

"Of 330 Seattle Colleges faculty who responded to a union pay survey earlier this year, 84% said they worked more than one job or depended on another person’s income. About one-fifth of faculty who responded said they worked three to five jobs. Three-fourths said they’ve considered leaving the district to pursue better pay or opportunities elsewhere."

What are they asking for with the rally?  Ecke says, "...contact your legislators before April 28th and tell them to REINVEST in our community and technical colleges."

The Seattle Times Washington’s ‘forgotten’ community colleges call for more funding from the state