Statement on Proposed College for All Act
In April 2021, the Executive Council approved the following statement.
The MLA strongly supports United States Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal’s recently proposed College for All Act. This bill works toward meaningful reform of higher education in the United States with the following key propositions, among others:
- The bill proposes a mandate that public institutions achieve a 75% tenure-track workforce.
- The bill requires public institutions to reach this quota of a 75% tenure-track faculty by making it a priority to hire from the existing adjunct, contract, contingent, and non-tenure-track or tenured faculty pool for tenure-track or tenured faculty positions. (This measure was developed in conversation with Scholars for a New Deal for Higher Education.)
- The bill requires that public institutions hire disability services personnel specifically dedicated to serving students with disabilities.
- The bill will eliminate tuition and fees at public colleges and universities for families making up to $125,000. It includes specific support for nonprofit colleges serving minority populations (historically Black colleges and universities, US tribal colleges and universities, among others).
- It will make community college free for every person across the United States.
- It doubles the maximum Pell Grant to $12,990, allows students to use the money to cover living and non-tuition expenses such as books and housing, and expands grant eligibility to “Dreamers” (immigrant children who have come to the United States but may be vulnerable to deportation).
The text of the proposed legislation can be found on Senator Sanders’s website.
The MLA recognizes that many of our members are often overworked and underpaid, struggling with precarious job conditions. The MLA further recognizes that the current crisis of tenure-track faculty positions is not natural but is instead caused by the choices of higher education administrations to shift to a majority adjunct or short-term contract teaching workforce. These choices have adversely affected humanities scholars, particularly underserved and historically marginalized populations. Additionally, as the MLA has previously stated, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated labor issues and inequities in the profession. The College for All Act is an important step toward addressing current inequities in institutions of higher education across the United States. It would benefit MLA members in multiple ways: reversing the current manufactured labor crisis and adjunctification, relieving the economic burden of college for many members’ students and children, and preventing further student debt crises for future generations.
As of 26 April 2021, the College for All Act has been endorsed by organizations across the country, including the American Federation of Teachers and the American Association of University Professors. It will be proposed as part of the US House reconciliation bill in July 2021. The MLA calls on organizations of higher education, including faculty unions, to endorse and support this bill. MLA members should contact their local representatives and ask them to support this bill. Now is the time to act on this important move toward equity in our profession.