73 percent of the 400 adjunct professors at Essex County College in New Jersey signed union authorization cards to be represented by the New Jersey Federation of Teachers/AFT. New Jersey state law allows a range of public employees to decide on union representation by card-check, and the adjunct professors hope to see their first raise in 10 years, as well as changes in their working conditions so they can do a better job of teaching their students.
A study by the Eagleton Research Center and Rutgers University shows that management is more likely to coerce employees than a union during organizing campaigns.