Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) adjuncts voted overwhelmingly to form their union with SEIU Local 500, joining a national movement of adjunct faculty uniting to raise standards in higher education.The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced the vote count was 163 to 75 on Tuesday, April 29.

Katherine Kavanaugh, an adjunct at MICA, was thrilled at the victory and ready for the next steps. She said, “Today’s victory came after nearly three years of listening to the stories and concerns of many adjuncts. Following several meetings with the administration, it became clear that our voices would not be heard without the strength of an empowered coalition. Now we can begin the work of negotiating with the administration to make MICA a better, stronger institution for all faculty and for the students.”

Today’s vote count at MICA is another inspiring victory in a growing movement of adjuncts who are forming unions to improve conditions and draw attention to higher education’s increasing reliance on contingent faculty. MICA adjuncts are joining George Washington University, American University, Georgetown University and Montgomery College as part of SEIU Local 500.

Adjuncts at more than a dozen schools have or will be voting this semester to join 18,000 adjunct faculty already united in SEIU, including Howard University in Washington, DC, Northeastern and Lesley Universities in Boston, Mills College and San Francisco Art Institute in the Bay Area, Seattle University in Washington State, Marist College in New York State and Hamline University and Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota.