'Fair share' unfair to adjunct profs

I am an adjunct for a community college. Due to the rules of the school, adjuncts are only allowed to teach a specific number of hours per semester.

I teach a class that meets twice a week for eight hours, for six weeks in the spring and six weeks in the fall. That is 24 days a year.

I have been paying into the SURS pension system for five years. I did not ask to become part of that system, and yet almost $1,400 gets taken from my salary each year. Add to that the $250 a year taken for the fair share union dues. A union I did not join.

I can understand taking union dues from full-time employees, but for adjuncts, and especially those of us restricted as to the number of hours we can teach, there should be a choice.

The deductions for fair share dues, and SURS is $140 every week. Other community colleges do not require their adjuncts to belong to SURS, nor do they pay union dues.

Perhaps we need a more equitable formula for all community colleges.

Karen Shea

Antioch