In February 2021 Governor Kemp and the Georgia State legislature announced a $1,000 bonus for state employees making less than $80,000 per year. Soon after making the announcement, the Board of Regents confirmed that this one-time bonus applied ONLY to full-time USG employees.  The BoR’s actions signaled that part-time faculty were not worthy of fair treatment. Part-time faculty (PTF) were left out of the COVID related bonus even though they were on the front lines too, making it possible for state institutions to keep their doors open during the pandemic.

In a statement released to campus this week, the governor’s office announced an amended budget item that will provide a $5,000 cost of living adjustment for state employees. Once again, the governor excluded part-time, non-benefited employees who work less than 30 hours per week. UCWGA members know that most if not all PFT work far more than 30 hours per week despite the BOR-approved formula to spend only 8.25 hours per week on a single course. The state would be forced to offer PTF health insurance coverage and other employee benefits otherwise.

PTF are some of the lowest paid workers in the university system and are not eligible for benefits whether our actual hours meet the federal threshold or not. Yet, advanced degrees are required to teach at the college level regardless of part-time status. So why are part-time faculty being treated as disposable by Governor Kemp, the Board of Regents, institutional administrators, and others who support this extremely unfair system?