President Dell’Omo

first you should write a summery for each letter, then write the thesis which to support adjunct faculty. and do a research to support my thesis finally write a conclusion,

Also, there will be 5 require resources

The adjunct faculty at RMU received a formal letter last week from President Dell’Omo
regarding our promising effort to organize with the USW. As members of your volunteer
organizing committee, we wish to clarify and comment on his statement, which begins by
encouraging our right to refrain from being represented by a third party (para 2). The USW
was initially contacted by RMU adjunct Dr. E who, after reading about Point Park
University adjuncts’ successful organizing campaign, realized that collective action would
benefit RMU, where adjunct faculty receive no benefits, no job security, and one of the lowest
compensations in the region. The USW answered our call for support, so we aligned our efforts
with their proven model. It should be emphasized that while the USW has made its vast
resources available to our union efforts, the union will be ours and under the direction of the
RMU adjunct faculty. Theirs will be a role of consultation, not consent.
President Dell’Omo’s letter makes a similar call, with a laundry list of minor adjunct amenities
and professional support to demonstrate that we should rest assured that RMU values the
excellent service [we] provide to [their] students (para 4). A more practical expression of that
value would be a collective voice, equitable pay, a measure of job security, and the remaining
markers of a fair workplace.
President Dell’Omo makes special mention of the long overdue pay increase awarded for the
second consecutive year (para 2), even though some of us have reportedly only seen one, or
none, of these raises. Now, even at the new top rate of $900 per credit hour, or $2,700 a class
per semester, with the maximum course load presently allowed by the university (6 courses),
RMU adjunct yearly compensation ($16,200) is only slightly above the 2014 national poverty
guidelines for a family of two ($15,730) and well below the national average for adjunct faculty.
Currently, in any class, approximately 1.2 students pay the wages of the highest paid adjunct to
teach that class. Furthermore, the lack of uniformity in distributing the pay increases to which he
refers reflects the lack of transparency at RMU, particularly in the area of standardization in pay
structure and pay increases. If we are to invest in our students, the university must invest in us.
Though it is true, as President Dell’Omo writes, that a union cannot guarantee any additional
benefits (para 4) (emphasis our own), a survey published in 2012 by the Coalition on the
Academic Workforce found that unionized adjuncts earned 25 percent more per course than
those who were not unionized. Once we form our collective bargaining unit, the university is
obligated to meet and negotiate with us in good faith.
Given our present working conditions, there is no way we could do worse, so we must work
together. To provide value, we must be valued. We are, after all, professionals and deserve to be
treated as such.
In solidarity,
RMU Adjunct Organizing Committee
Ofifice of the President I would like to address recent reports that you may have read in the news media
that the United Steelworkers union is attempting to organize adjunct faculty at
Robert Morris University, as the USW has done at Point Park and Duquesne
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Universities.
fiijzgg P°° Should the USW pursue this effort, RMU will respect your right to seek
r- 3 __?_R:,,- presentation as well as your right to refrain from being represented by a third
rty. However, we want to make sure that you are aware of what the university

already provides to part-time faculty without a union.

This fall we boosted pay for part-time faculty for the second consecutive year. As
adjunct faculty you enjoy many of the same amenities and professional support
as our full-time faculty, including access to office space and meeting space,
campus mail service, computers, and test-scoring assistance. Many of our
academic departments and programs invite adjunct professors to participate in
faculty-enrichment programs and give you a voice in curricular decisions, and all
are being encouraged to do so.
While some may find the idea of union representation appealing, it is worth
noting that a union cannot guarantee any additional benefits. RMU can give no
more to any employee than what the university’s finances will allow. We
endeavor to provide our students a high-quality education at an affordable
tuition, which funds the majority of the university’s operations.

Rest assured that RMU values the excellent service you provide to our students.
Our academic administrators and full-time faculty value their professional
relationships with you. We want to continue to work directly together to achieve
academic excellence and to change our students’ lives.
Assignment
Course objectives addressed:
Reading
0 Analyze texts (written, oral, and visual) using the concepts of the rhetorical triangle and
Toulmin argumentation
Writing
0 Apply concepts of the rhetorical triangle in developing and shaping arguments,
particularly with a sense of adapting arguments to differing audiences and
organizing longer essays
o Apply concepts of Toulmin argumentation in developing and shaping arguments,
particularly with a sense of arguments’ underlying assumptions or warrants
0 Evaluate, analyze and synthesize others’ ideas so as to develop and support
student writer’s argument and purposes
0 Paraphrase, summarize, and quote source material with increased accuracy and
sophistication
Due date:
Your completed paper must be uploaded to the desi -_4 ed area under assignments on the
Blackboard shell no later than midnight on
Assignment:
Write a 3-5 page paper summarizing the opposition writings and arguing (classical
argument) for one side based on your Toulmin analysis worksheets. Further research
supporting your claims will enhance your work. Papers are to follow APA formatting.
Use TNR 12 font, double spaced with no leading or ending spaces. References should be
listed on a reference page yet you will not be penalized for improper formatting as we
have not covered APA formatting yet. Papers are to be uploaded to the Blackboard shell.
Papers will be checked by Turnitin.com and, if uploaded prior to the due date, will
provide a similarity . ou ma edit your paper and resubmit prior to the due date of
Point value:
200 points
Papers submitted late but before the next class will include a 10% reduction in grade. No papers
will be accepted afier the class following the due date.