provided to their full-time colleagues and forced to buy health insurance from state or federal plans that are expensive or have higher deductibles. We are excluded because we are seen as part-time, despite many adjuncts teaching full-time course loads at multiple colleges and universities.
“I don’t discount how fortunate I am to have been able to rely on those savings,” she said. “But it would have been a lot less stressful if I didn’t have to check uninsured in the emergency room. It would have been easier to rest if I didn’t have to worry about the number on the bills and when they’d be sent.”
The Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union has been battling against this second-class status for several years, joining our full-time and graduate worker colleagues on a strike that won us better pay and limited job security. An antiquated state law prevented us from making health care gains, which is why we are among the higher education unions now calling for changes to state law.
We need all state representatives to grasp the fact that passing the adjunct health care bill will be life-changing. Instead of people leaving our state, we can retain educators and continue to build a better future for New Jersey.