Happy Labor Day! In a week when we celebrate the labor movement’s contributions — the weekend, the 40-hour work week, health and safety regulations — we’re also excited to be growing and strengthening our own union. We are proud to join our labor siblings in a movement that has long stood at the forefront of defending and strengthening American democracy. Unions of academic workers are among the strongest organizations working to stop the erosion of higher education through casualization and other attacks on academic freedom. 

Contract faculty play an increasingly vital role at NYU: we are experts in our fields, we are accomplished classroom teachers, and we do essential administrative work across schools and programs. Despite the high value of our labor, we find ourselves entering another academic year without the protections of tenure or a collective bargaining agreement. As we continue to grow our majority support and organize to win our union, we need to hear from you. Please take a minute to share your recent experiences and perspective in a brief survey to help determine the most useful next steps:

Contract Faculty United – Working Conditions Survey 

The NYU administration would prefer not to bargain with us, for the same reason a majority of contract faculty support a union: we all know that collective bargaining helps equalize the power imbalance between faculty and administrators. To win recognition, we have to continue building support and solidarity. To that end, this Labor Day, we ask you to recommit to helping build our union: share this survey with colleagues, and invite them to join a larger conversation about organizing to protect the important work that happens in our classrooms, labs and offices.