Adjunct faculty at JJC have voted to be represented by the Illinois Education Association in a contested vote held April 22 and 23 on campus.

The adjuncts chose the IEA over the Illinois Federation of Teachers, who are affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers. The IEA is the Illinois branch of the National Education Association.

With 207 of the eligible 413 adjunct faculty members voting, the IEA garnered 116 votes and the AFT/IFT garnered 67 votes. Also, 24 adjunct faculty voted for no representation. All three options were present on the ballot. The results were provided by the AFT/IFT.

The vote last week ended about 10 months of organizing on campus. The IEA began to recruit adjuncts last summer. The IFT responded to the organizing effort after completing an organizational drive on another community college campus late last summer. The ballot included three choices: the IEA, the AFT/IFT, and no representation.

According to an IFT representative, about 35 ballots were challenged, with about 10 of the challenges being resolved. To be eligible to vote, an adjunct faculty member had to be teaching at least three credits this semester.

Retired full-time faculty, who currently teach as adjuncts, were not eligible to vote—according to an IFT representative—because they are covered under a full-time faculty contract.

Anyone who showed up to vote but was not on the list was asked to fill out a provisional ballot.

The election was conducted by the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board.