'Adjunctivitis' Part 3 or is it 4?

Wow... California is in deep trouble. Summer classes started today at the California Community Colleges. Apparently, a lot of classes are being cut and thus, adjuncts will too. I hear that this is only the beginning and that times will worsen come fall. YOU WOULD THINK that people would place a higher priority on education when our nations ability too compete in the world economy is at its lowest rate ever and perhaps in complete demise?
Community college classes are filled to the rim with people who have recently, or in the past year, been laid off from their jobs. But, unlike in past years when we just added classes to fill the need, students will be turned away. Which, I don't get. If there are enough students to fill the classroom, than isn't the money to pay the instructor going to be there. I am told that it takes 20 students enrolled to employ the adjunct for the semester. If there are 45 students or more, in many of the "required to transfer to a four year" classes, it would seem to me that this is not the viable answer to the problem. Why on earth are we turning away people who want to be educated! Tell me that?
Some good news to share, though. Since we last met...or I last wrote, I have been communicating with a number of part time faculty who are sympathetic to my concerns and want to do something about it! I am hoping others join. I was just told by one such person, that they will be cutting the pay we receive to hold 'office hours.' Go figure. Well, not cutting, getting rid of it. Demise of the office hour pay. Would you work an hour for free each week? I didn't think so. I already work upwards of 20 hours a week at times....that I get the one hour of it paid....is the saving grace. What an idiot I have become. Oh, but not really. This predicament we adjuncts are experiencing has only placed more fuel on the fire. I am hopeful that it will help us add to our numbers and than come fall, we will have a huge contingent ready to sit down and talk about how teachers should be paid. I for one, hope that we can create enough interest that the lawmakers listen. I would hope that a strike would not be necessary; but if it gets bad enough...pandemic in scope, this adjunctivitis may just spread up and down the state. Take you vitamins! We need to keep fighting this thing!