About USC Faculty Union

Faculty at USC are joining together to improve the quality of higher education for our students, our professions, and our families. We all have different professional backgrounds, ranging from our fields of expertise, to our job titles.

Some of us are seeking secure positions with academic freedom so that we can dedicate ourselves fully to the students we teach. Others of us currently have or have had other successful careers, and enjoy the opportunity to contribute to our professional fields in the classroom. What we all have in common is the desire to make a lasting contribution to society by advancing our fields, and mentoring the next generation of talent. We are educators, artists, and professionals. We are the face of higher education.

Yet, we are in the midst of a crisis in higher education. With the constant rise in tuition, we – along with our students – have taken on more debt than any generation before us. All the while, a new model has evolved in higher education that relies on a large workforce of contingent faculty, who are marginalized in our academic communities, with no guarantees to academic freedom, teaching under substandard conditions and with inadequate compensation. We have become the majority of faculty in higher education.

This is why we are building a movement. It is time to reverse the trend. It is time to raise the standards in higher education. It is time to make our voices heard.

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jessicakanoski2“I want to form a union at USC to gain employment stability, opportunity for growth, and a voice.”
Jessica Kanoski, Lecturer
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences


rachelroske2“As contingent, non-tenured faculty, we make up the silent majority of professors teaching at USC.  It is time we realized our power in numbers to affect change on crucial issues such as job security, benefits and greater transparency in teaching assignment decisions. These issues are critical to our future at USC and in higher education in general, and it is only by working together that our voices will be heard.”
Rachel Roske,
Roski School of Art and Design


“The past year at USC’s art school has shown in very stark terms the need for faculty to have a strong say in the direction and identity of their department. We need a seat at the table. Among other adjunct labor concerns, I support unionization because I have seen the damage done to an outstanding program when faculty are steamrolled and their expert opinions ignored.”
Sarah Lehrer-Graiwer
Roski School of Art and Design


NouraWedell2“I can’t stand down and let my students’ education be endangered, as it is now with the rise in adjunct faculty in the university. Fighting for dignity in education is good pedagogy.”
Noura Wedell
Roski School of Art and Design


annebray100“For 40 years I have taught part-time at nearly every school in Southern California, and the last 20 of those years I’ve spent at USC. I would appreciate a stronger sense of community among all members of the university. Having a union would mean more transparency about all the factors of employment, and would turn our isolation into community. I think the faculty can be a positive force amidst all the enormous financial pressures universities are facing today.”
Anne Bray
School of Cinematic Arts


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“I stand with my faculty colleagues in the fight for equity, as well as fair and ethical labor practices. Collectively, we can transform the conditions of our employment, securing a just and improved future for ourselves, our students, our families and our communities.”
A.L. Steiner
Roski School of Art and Design


222“The dedicated educators who make this university run deserve much better than for our lives and careers, to which we have devoted so much of ourselves, to be subject to the whims of administrators. For these reasons, we are very much in need of a union here at USC, and I urge you to support us in our efforts to form one.”
Jamal Ali
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences


JanetOwenDriggs“Faculty strength lies in collective bargaining, and students deserve faculty who have time to support them.”
Janet Owen Driggs
School of Dramatic Arts


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“I support forming a union because faculty deserve to have security in our jobs. We are part of the USC community, and continue to teach here year after year, yet we don’t know if we’ll be asked to return. Our future is currently unclear at USC. By forming a union, we will be able to fight for longer term contracts and security for us and our families.”
Lina Kholaki
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences


KimberlyTso

“Every semester, I teach my students and something inevitably comes up in their lives – a death in the family, an illness, some personal crisis. I take the time to direct them to resources and get the help they need. But it’s not in my contract. The more I feel unfairly compensated, the harder it is to justify allowing the University to take advantage of my good will and professionalism. Adjuncts need to be treated with the same respect that we give our students and our profession.”
Kimberly Tso
Price School of Public Policy


Patrick Jackson“I love teaching sculpture at USC. But after 6 years, I’m still on semester-to-semester contracts, and I’m often not guaranteed classes until a few weeks before the semester begins. As an artist I’ve learned how to live on a shoe-string budget, but it’s still unnerving knowing that a class might be cancelled last minute, resulting in lost health benefits and income. I support forming a union at USC because I believe long-term faculty deserve more stability and job security.”

Patrick Jackson
Roski School of Art and Design


“My family is a Trojan Family. I love teaching at USC, and am fighting to make it better by building a faculty union here. Having been a member of a faculty union at another school, I know how valuable it is to have a way to bargain collectively with the university over issues that matter to us and our students. There is no substitute for a union when it comes to giving faculty a say in how we do our work and what it is worth.”

Kate Levin
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences


“I’ve loved teaching art theory to students in Roski for the last 5 years, and was very saddened when I wasn’t offered any classes for next semester — I and two other part-time faculty are being replaced by a full-time hire. Even though I’ve always known adjunct teaching is never certain, my family and I weren’t expecting my classes to disappear after several years of service. I wish my colleagues much success in building their union so that they can create a USC where great faculty who are teaching great classes can live without fear that each semester might be their last.”

Molly Corey
Roski School of Art and Design


Sandra Ross

“I’m a second generation Trojan and I love USC. I’m fighting for better pay and greater transparency because the future of our school is at stake. By building a strong faculty organization, we’ll be able to advocate for our students and ourselves without having to put our careers on the line. If you think faculty are an important voice at our school, join me and the rest of your NTT colleagues and help us build our union.” 

Sandra Ross
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences


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“I’ve been teaching Ballroom Dance at USC for 22 years. Year-after-year you’re never sure whether the school will want you back. Over the past few years I’ve witnessed at least 5 of my colleagues get terminated. I want to form a union in order to achieve real job security and stability.”

Jesus Fuentes
Glorya Kaufman School of Dance

Oliver Rizk

“I support forming a faculty union at USC because alone, it’s difficult to get the attention of the administration. But with a union, I can talk to my colleagues in different departments about the issues we share, and collectively we can’t get ignored by the administration.”
Oliver Rizk

Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences


MartinLeung“I support forming a union to give a better education to my students. With fairer working conditions, teachers such as myself will be able to give a higher quality education to students.”
Martin Leung
Thornton School of Music