PSC’s Davis demands CUNY end ‘perennial’ problem of late adjunct pay

The head of the faculty and staff union at the City University of New York has called on Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez to immediately address what he described as the chronic problem of adjunct professors receiving their paychecks late at the start of each semester.

In a letter sent last week, Professional Staff Congress–CUNY (PSC) President James Davis said adjuncts — who teach the majority of courses at the university — continue to face “financial stress and disrespect” when their first fall semester paychecks arrive late.

“On-time pay should be a given at a 21st century university,” Davis wrote. “But at the start of nearly every semester, the union hears from adjuncts facing the financial stress and disrespect of late paychecks. It’s a systemic problem that your administration has, to date, failed to remedy.”

Davis said the problem has persisted for years despite repeated appeals. He noted that adjuncts, who already earn far less and face far more job insecurity than full-time faculty, also had to wait more than two months longer than their full-time colleagues to receive recently negotiated ratification bonuses.

“The University could not function without the work of thousands of teaching and non-teaching adjuncts,” Davis said. “Delays to adjunct pay are unjust.”

As of Monday, Davis had not received a reply from CUNY, a union spokesperson said. University officials did not respond to an email seeking comment on Davis’ letter.

The pay skirmish underscores a broader, national struggle by adjunct and contingent faculty, who now make up the majority of higher education teaching staff but often face low wages, unstable contracts and late or inconsistent pay. Adjunct organizing has accelerated in recent years as unions press colleges and universities to improve compensation and working conditions for the workers who carry much of the teaching load.

Adjuncts teach about 22,000 CUNY courses each year, according to the union. Until the ratification of a collective bargaining agreement in January, adjunct lecturers were paid an average of just $5,549 for teaching a three-credit course, according to the PSC. Adjunct lecturers are one of four adjunct titles teaching at CUNY. The others are adjunct assistant professors, adjunct associate professors and adjunct professors. Lecturers teach most of the classes taught by adjuncts.

The new contract, spanning March 2023 through November 2027, got adjuncts two retroactive 3-percent raises. They are due a 3.25-percent increase Sept. 1, which will increase adjunct lecturers’ pay for a three-credit course to $6,025. Over the course of the pact, adjuncts will see their minimum pay increase by 29 percent, with pay for adjunct lecturers who teach a three-credit class increasing to $7,100 by June 1, 2027.

Davis nonetheless criticized the administration for centralizing hiring processes while leaving payroll errors to be handled by individual colleges. “Your administration’s practice of centralizing hiring practices and hiring conditions while delegating responsibility to the colleges when payroll problems arise is unacceptable,” Davis wrote.

The system, the country’s largest urban public university, is composed of 11 senior colleges, seven community colleges and eight graduate, honors and professional Schools. 

The contract, which was overwhelmingly ratified by the PSC’s rank and file, also includes a pilot program granting adjuncts who teach 12 consecutive semesters a two-year appointment, which may be extended to three years at departments’ discretion. Adjuncts with three-year appointments are being grandfathered into the program. 

Davis urged the chancellor to make adjunct pay a top priority by fixing technical issues, coordinating with payroll offices and deans, and improving hiring practices. He also pressed for more state and city funding for full-time faculty positions so CUNY is less reliant on “a contingent workforce, last-minute hiring, and a lack of administrative support for departments.”

If late paychecks persist, Davis said, colleges should be required to offer guidance to affected adjuncts on obtaining salary advances, as well as provide letters for landlords or creditors confirming the delay.

“The expectation that adjuncts simply wait to be compensated is unacceptable,” Davis wrote.

richardk@thechiefleader.com