We’re writing to share important information about the changes you should expect as we begin our first academic year as unionized professors.
Last spring, we stood together to win a contract that sets new national standards. Now, we need to keep working together to defend what we’ve won. We all have to be vigilant about our individual situations, and we all have to learn to use the tools the contract gives us to defend our rights. You can read a summary of the contract here (and the full contract here).
Over the summer, CFU’s rep team learned that we can’t always rely on representatives of the NYU administration to abide by their obligations under our contract. When that happens, the contract empowers us to fight back, but you will always need to take an active role in resolving problems with your pay, benefits, and working conditions.
Our reps know the contract, but they don’t know the specifics of your situation or of your department. Remember that our contract — not to mention state and federal law — explicitly forbids any retaliation for taking part in a grievance, whether as the main grievant or as a witness.
Here are several steps you should take to ensure that you’re protected and receiving the compensation and benefits guaranteed by our contract.
Check your information in PeopleSync.
Since we ratified our contract, the NYU administration has been working to update individual employment records. Check to ensure that the changes they’ve made are correct by logging in to PeopleSync, and clicking the icon in the upper-right corner of the home screen to navigate to your Profile. You will see a new field for your “Continuous Service Date,” which should reflect the date you began working at NYU in a contract faculty role.
- If you left your contract faculty job at any point and were subsequently rehired, an accurate Continuous Service Date will reflect the date you were rehired.
- If you were initially hired as full-time continuing contract faculty with a title that has since been phased out (e.g. Instructor), an accurate Continuous Service Date will reflect the date you were hired with the phased-out title.
If your Continuous Service Date is inaccurate, email askpeoplelink@nyu.edu to request a correction; copy your school HR department and nyu_cfu@actuaw.org.
Check your salary in PeopleSync or your “AMI” letter.
Our salaries are now set by our contract, rather than school- and department-level AMI processes. Some schools are still sending so-called “AMI letters” informing faculty of their new salaries as of September 1. Whether or not you received such a letter, you can and should check your salary in PeopleSync. If your AY 2026-27 salary has not yet been updated, it should be by September 1. Review our instructions from earlier in the summer to determine your contractually-guaranteed salary for AY 2026-27, using the salary calculator (under “current salary,” enter your salary for AY 2025-26, before the retroactive raise).
If your salary is incorrect and you can’t figure out why, email jamie.root@actuaw.org.
If you hold an administrative position, check your appointment letter.
Thanks to Article 3, section 2 of our contract, if you hold an administrative position you should have received an appointment letter outlining the length of the appointment or reappointment, whether the appointment or reappointment is renewable, the amount of compensation and/or course release(s), the title of the administrative position(s), and a summary of the job responsibilities. The administration is required to include these details for your protection. Read your administrative appointment letter carefully, and make sure it describes your job correctly; our contract guarantees your right to reject any administrative position with no adverse consequence.
If the letter looks right, sign it; if it doesn’t, go back to your chair or dean and have a conversation about how to correct it. If you need help, email your reps.
Apply for your Family Care subsidy by Sept. 11, 2026.
As we wrote last week, enrollment is now open for our new Family Care subsidy. This fund replaces and significantly expands upon the previous childcare subsidy, which was limited to children under age 3. The new program covers children under 13 as of January 2027, and also includes eligible adult care expenses, making the benefit available to many more member caregivers. As in the past, this benefit is managed through an NYU Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA).
Email benedetta [dot] piantella [at] actuaw [dot] org with questions.
Click here to apply for your Family Care subsidy.Enforcing our contract will require all of us to be alert and prepared to assert the rights we’ve won. We’re excited to begin working with you!
In solidarity,
Elisabeth Fay | Unit Chair
Gwendolyn Alker, Dustin Jones, Gerard O’Donoghue, Benedetta Piantella, and Jamie Root | Unit Representatives