MLA passes employment-related measures

The delegate assembly of the Modern Language Association (MLA) passed a motion in December calling on the MLA to work with the AAUP and other organizations to formulate policies to guarantee continuing employment for doctoral students who finish their degrees. The action occurred at the annual meeting of the MLA, at which the association also endorsed two AAUP statements: the "Statement on Intellectual Workers and Essential Freedoms," issued jointly by the AAUP and the Newspaper Guild/Communications Workers of America, and the "Statement on Graduate Students."

In other business, the delegate assembly voted to encourage MLA members to unionize when possible and to support the unionizing efforts of other campus workers. The body also affirmed faculty control of the curriculum as a basic tenet of academic freedom and passed a motion requiring the MLA to establish minimum compensation guidelines for full- and parttime faculty, including graduate assistants. The proposed minimum compensation includes health and retirement benefits for both full- and part-time faculty. For full-time faculty not holding a terminal degree, the guidelines propose a minimum annual salary of $36,000; for those with such a degree, the recommended minimum is $42,000 a year. The proposed per-- course rate for part-time faculty is one-eighth of the full-time rate. Items passed by the delegate assembly must be ratified by the MLA membership before they take effect.

Copyright American Association of University Professors Mar/Apr 2001
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