Visions of fair contracts and respect were dancing in the heads of unionists from Long Island to Westchester County during the holiday season, as adjunct college professors at Pace University and public school teachers in Suffolk County called for an end to long-running contract disputes.

The irony wasn't lost on John Pawlowski at one of three pickets against Pace University. During a staff recognition day, the administration presented Pawlowski with a pin adorned with diamond studs to mark 35 years as an adjunct professor. Despite the gesture, he couldn't help but feel a nagging frustration over the overall lack of respect that Pace has shown him and his colleagues.

A jolly fellow joins Pace adjunct faculty and president John Pawlowski. Photo by Florence McCue.

For three years, the administration has refused to settle the first-ever contract with its Union of Adjunct Faculty at Pace. The UAFP — which represents more than 1,000 adjunct faculty at Pace's three campuses in Westchester and New York City — joined NYSUT in 2004 and negotiations began that fall.

There's been progress on minor issues, said Pawlowski, the UAFP president, but "no movement" on major issues — job security, better salaries, benefits.

Negotiations have remained at an impasse since last year, when the university objected to a National Labor Relations Board decision to allow into the collective bargaining unit all adjuncts who teach at least three credit hours and/or 45 hours in a semester.

"What really upsets me is how this school is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on lawyer fees," said Tracy Basile, an English and environmental studies adjunct. "The university has been dragging its feet for 21¼2 years at huge expense."

United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and Professional Staff Congress President Barbara Bowen were among the NYSUT activists joining adjuncts picketing in Manhattan in December.

Pickets at Pace in Westchester were joined by NYSUT colleagues from nearby locals.

"The university is failing to support basic labor rights," said Steve Reich, president of the Valhalla Teachers Association.

"Adjuncts are on the front line in teaching," said Joel Schlemowitz, an adjunct professor at The New School in New York City, where he is president of UAW Local 7902.

Schlemowitz noted the trend at public and private colleges to control costs by "tilting away" from granting tenure and using full-time professors.

Meanwhile on Long Island, more than 300 chanting, marching NYSUT members and community and labor supporters flooded the street outside Wyandanch district offices on a cold afternoon in late November.

Members from more than two dozen Nassau and Suffolk locals raised their voices in support of Wyandanch colleagues, the lowest-paid teachers on Long Island.

"The Wyandanch teachers deserve respect, a fair shake and a good contract," said Peter Noto, Wyandanch Teachers Association president.

"We are committed to our students and our schools," he said. "It's time for the district to stop stalling, show some respect and work with us in meeting the needs of this community's students and educators."

Wyandanch teachers have been working without a new contract since August 2005. The district is offering no raises for the 2005-06 or 2006-07 years.

The labor family was also represented by the AFL-CIO's national worker rights group Jobs with Justice, Teamsters and Mail Carrier union representatives, as well as Suffolk County legislator Kate Browning.

— Bernie Mulligan and Matt Smith.