PATFA is retooling, and we need your support.
We represent and bargain on behalf of the 1,700 part-time faculty members within the University of Maine System. But we need to do more. A range of recent issues at the federal, state, and System levels and rapid technological and pedagogical changes show clearly that teaching and U.S. public higher education in particular face tremendous challenges. So PATFA is changing to meet them.
As a union Local of the American Federation of Teachers, PATFA is both local and national. The retooling involves keeping PATFA-AFT members informed and involved on three tracks at the same time: System, state, and federal. We bargain directly with the System; we advocate jointly with the other unions in Augusta; and we advocate in Washington through AFT.
AFT, for example, was part of a coalition of unions that sued Feb. 10 to challenge a data heist at the U.S. Department of Education by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. And AFT and the American Association of University Professors sued March 25 to challenge the cut-off of public health research funding at Columbia University. Other significant issues are ahead. At the state level, Maine will elect a new governor and new Legislature in 2026, and those who win will play a big role in shaping the University of Maine System. And PATFA’s three-year collective-bargaining agreement with the System expires in August 2026. So the months ahead will include negotiations even as the System promotes new teaching methods such as research-learning experiences and competency-based education.
Frankly, none of these issues is easy to deal with. The federal government is targeting Maine, in particular, on a number of fronts. Court challenges can take years. Yet the widespread adaptation of artificial intelligence in education and all other fields is moving swiftly and is difficult to forecast. Our point is that PATFA-AFT can help each of us who teach part time in UMS by tracking, alerting, advocating, and challenging. We are not just protesting. We are acting.
Some actions will be reactive – as with lawsuits and arbitration. But a retooled PATFA-AFT will be looking ahead – and acting with diligence on matters large and small. We noticed recently that the professional staff union at UMS negotiated a raise in its travel reimbursement rate – to 67 cents per mile. We pointed out immediately to UMS Human Resources that the PATFA-AFT collective-bargaining agreement says part-time faculty are entitled to get that rate too (starting July 1). We will keep pushing to make sure it is implemented for part-time faculty. In a strategic sense, PATFA-AFT is setting up an “accessibility group” to assess efforts the seven UMS universities are undertaking to require teachers to adapt their classroom digital tools – images, videos, etc. – to Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act. PATFA-AFT supports access but is wary of efforts to add more to a classroom professor’s workload without sufficient university support.
This retooling requires more part-time faculty to get involved. We especially like groups of two to four members who can share ideas and time in addressing a specific issue for a limited period. A retooled PATFA-AFT is especially eager to reach and support the growing numbers of health-care professionals and arts professionals who teach in clinical and studio settings within the UMS. It is also important, in this digital era, to remember that the UMS part-time faculty unit comprises considerable numbers of out-of-state professors. A retooled PATFA-AFT must cultivate in-person, on-campus familiarity. But it also needs connections to and involvement by people who teach at a UMS university but live half a continent away. (A UMS official told us recently that the System must deal with tax withholdings in 34 states.)
A retooled PATFA-AFT will promote the fact that dues-paying members have access to professional development and scholarship funding, AFT member discounts, and a vote on PATFA-AFT matters and leadership. A retooled PATFA-AFT will also be encouraging UMS retirees to continue their support for public higher education. A person who retires as an AFT member retains the right to AFT discounts.
As we near finals week in spring semester 2025, it is important to remember that PATFA-AFT members will be working this spring and summer to address some long-term issues. A “senior options” task force will be meeting with UMS officials to come up with ways that reward long-serving part-time faculty (and address the fact that “emeritus” status seems confined to full-time faculty only). In addition, PATFA-AFT members are nearing a draft agreement governing how UMS treats part-time faculty who teach in University of Maine at Presque Isle’s YourPace competency-based education program. And PATFA-AFT is nurturing a stronger social media presence through a social-media group that is refining ways to connect with adjunct faculty through a range of venues.
What can you do? All part-time faculty are invited to PATFA-AFT’s Annual Meeting via Zoom at 10 a.m. EDT Saturday, May 17 (a week after UMS commencements). We will keep the meeting focused but will be open to discerning issues the union can and should address.
Tom McCord (UMA), president; Michele Cheung (USM), vice president; Pam Mitchel (UMF), treasurer; Araminta Matthews (UMPI), communications officer.