Hi colleagues,
I get so angry over working conditions in our field that I can hardly see 
straight!  Part-timers are abused, in my mind, in everything from space to 
work in to benefits to salaries to respect.

I am right now one of the fortunate ones to be full-time, although I worked 
part-time for quite a few years both at my present center and others.  I 
came in teaching mostly life-skills type things in a family homeless 
shelter, and moved on to teaching GED.  Then I came part-time to my current 
center, which posts all openings for full-time slots, so part-timers are 
always aware of them and usually have the upper hand in getting them, if 
they're qualified.  However, at least on the ESOL side, part time, or at 
least subbing and huge amounts of it, WITH US doesn't count, if you can 
believe that.  They have to have experience elsewhere to bring to us. 
Sounds crazy to me, but there you have it.

As far as benefits are concerned, we are part of a city bureaucracy. 
Part-timers can't get health insurance, even at pro-rated costs, although a 
few valuable perks are available -- highly subsidized rapid transit fares, 
extremely cheap garage parking, some tuition reimbursement.  But what really 
irks me is that health insurance.  It seems to me that state or even 
regional advocacy organizations -- in Massachusetts it's MCAE -- ought to be 
able to put some kind of plan in place for the hundreds if not thousands of 
people who work their tails off for not very much.  But people who have 
tried to get this going just get stonewalled.  Grrrrrr.


Wendy Quinones