Part-time teachers need
benefits at MHCC
There’s a problem in Oregon’s college education system. 80 percent of teachers hired in this state in the last four years don’t get healthcare benefits because they’re hired on a part-time basis.
This is ridiculous when you look at all the other kinds of public jobs that provide benefits. Postal workers get benefits; politicians get benefits; police get benefits; firefighters get benefits.
So why not part-time teachers in public colleges?
One reason is the cost. It costs a lot of money to cover all teachers at colleges.
Fortunately, at MHCC part-time faculty get fringe benefits. Between 350 part-time faculty members get to split $15,000 among them for health care benefits.
But this is still not enough.
The MHCC district board is renegotiating with part-time faculty representatives to get part-time teachers improved benefits. The school is beginning to budget those insurance costs for the next biennium.
This is a step in the right direction, and MHCC is wise to be addressing this problem now, rather than waiting and putting it off.
Teaching is one of the most important jobs in this state, so it’s only natural that teachers should be able to make a living at it. Right now, most teachers are struggling in this state to make ends meet because of high healthcare costs.
Hopefully, that’s all about to change though.
