SMCC faculty picket for equal wages
Faculty and supporters march for equal pay at Southern Maine Community College
South Portland, Maine – On the first day of classes, about 50 faculty members, community members and elected officials gathered in front of Southern Maine Community College’s campus center, chanting “Same job, same pay” in a picket that aimed to bring attention to a pay gap that has lingered for a year.
The protest, organized by the Community College Faculty Association, centered on the fact that lab, clinical and shop‑based instructors are paid 20 percent less per hour than classroom teachers, even when the work is identical. “If you spend an hour teaching with your hands, it should still count as an hour,” said union president Christopher Teret, an electrician who has taught for five years. Teret told reporters that the college’s administration has so far rejected the union’s proposals, citing a lack of funds.
The picket was a more public escalation than the union had anticipated. “Hopefully by going public, it will bring them back to the negotiating table,” Teret said. “If we have to pursue more actions, we will.” A petition that has been circulated by the union has already received signatures from faculty and several local officials, but negotiations have stalled.
“We’re not just about the money,” said Kayla Catlin, a nursing instructor who does not receive the lower pay. “It’s about supporting our colleagues.” She joined the line of instructors holding cardboard signs that read “100 % for the work, 80 % of the pay.” Another sign, read “Same job, same pay.” Nursing teacher Jen Laflamme, who teaches 12 clinical hours a week, added that the pay differential “affects a lot of departments here” – from electricians to construction workers and emergency medicine.
SMCC President Kristen Miller issued a statement saying the college “respects our faculty’s right to raise workplace concerns” and is committed to good‑faith negotiations on the local faculty workload agreement. The agreement is separate from the system‑wide contract on pay, she noted. “We have presented proposals to the faculty union and will continue negotiations this year to try to reach an agreement that everyone could agree with,” Miller said.
The picket was attended by state‑level political figures. Senate candidate Troy Jackson wore a red shirt that read “Student success starts with supporting faculty,” and said he was “surprised to learn that this was an issue that faculty had to advocate for.” “It’s clear as day,” he told the crowd. “We need skilled workers, and that requires investment in teaching staff.” State House candidate Jason Shedlock added that the pay gap “can be hard to recruit and retain teachers who make more money doing the trade than teaching it,” and questioned what the discrepancy signals to students: “What are we saying to our students?”
The protest drew a mixture of faculty, community members, and elected officials, but also students who walked past the picketing instructors during lunch. A tent welcoming new students was set up across the street, in front of the campus center, while students in backpacks passed the protest line.
In the broader Maine community‑college system, six of seven schools pay a fractional rate for a lab hour, negotiated with each school’s local bargaining unit. Northern Maine Community College is the only institution in the state that pays at a 1:1 rate. The Southern Maine faculty association is hoping that the public demonstration will pressure the college administration to reconsider its stance on equal pay for all teaching roles.
As negotiations continue, the union’s leadership has made clear that further actions may be pursued if a resolution is not reached soon.
