Member Testimony
Co-Chair Lieber, Co-Chair Sanchez, and members of the Ways & Means Committee,
For the record, my name is Alison Lutz and I am here today to urge you to support HB 2669 for part-time faculty pay parity, put $40 million more into the CCSF to fund it, and please reject any and all tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy and corporations and instead ensure no cuts to community colleges and fully funding pay parity.
I am a part-time faculty member at Chemeketa Community College where I’ve worked since 2011 and Clark College in Vancouver, WA since 2024. Even though I am labeled as “part-time”, I regularly teach more than a full time class load, teaching is my main source of income, and I am dedicated to this work and to my students.
At Chemeketa, a part-time faculty member is currently paid 65% of what a full-time member is paid and 65% is not an accurate reflection of my work compared to my full-time colleagues. When I am assigned a class to teach, I receive notification and the rest is up to me and often this process starts months in advance of the class: constructing the syllabus, assignment development, sourcing course materials, not to mention student interaction, classroom prep, feedback, grading, letters of recommendation, etc. I teach the same classes, have the same qualifications, receive excellent evaluations, but I get paid less. Our students receive the same credits, why don’t I get the same pay?
Institutions like Chemeketa, use part-time faculty to save costs, at a disservice to students. I have to teach at multiple institutions to make ends meet. I’m unable to provide my students the adequate attention they need, as I have to run out of my classroom to drive to my next job.
I spent the last year looking for other part-time openings. This year I was offered a class to teach at Mount Hood Community College. Unfortunately, I had to decline that offer so that I could take another offer at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington. I took the Clark College job over MHCC simply because Clark pays more, in fact, Clark pays almost double MHCC as a new hire. Also at Clark, I make $800 more per class than I do at Chemeketa where I’ve been teaching for more than 13 years.
And I’m not the only Oregonian looking to Washington for higher wages. At a recent department meeting at Clark, I recognized two other Chemeketa part-time faculty who were hired to teach there. This situation is real.
Part-time faculty deserve equal pay for equal work. The future of Oregon higher ed depends on it. Thank you.
Alison Lutz
Portland, OR, OEA member, Chemeketa Community College
