We did it. You did it. Together, we won our union.

Today and yesterday, contract faculty across NYU voted 553-72 in favor of unionizing as Contract Faculty United – UAW. 67% of the 931 eligible voters cast a ballot. The whole world can now see that we have a strong mandate to protect the parts of our jobs we like now and negotiate for the improvements we need.

In our groundbreaking election agreement, the NYU administration agreed that after we won the election it would recognize our union and bargain with us in good faith. Among other things, that means from today, it would be unlawful for the NYU administration to make unilateral changes to the status quo of our job conditions or benefits. This includes not only written policies but established practices that are not written down.

This is a historic victory, not only for NYU but for the entire American academy. We are the largest union of full-time, non-tenure track professors at any private university in the country. By organizing to protect and improve our jobs, we have shown the way forward for higher education.

A union is something we build and maintain together. So some of our siblings voted together over the past few days.

Our next step is to decide how we will structure and elect our bargaining committee and set our bargaining priorities. Please join us for a Planning Assembly by zoom next Friday, March 8 at 1pm, to celebrate our victory, to begin the conversation about structuring our governance, and to choose a working group to draft bylaws. Please RSVP here to get the zoom link.

Contract Faculty United – UAW is its members. Unions are not services we buy; they are something we build and maintain, every day, with our coworkers. We on the Organizing Committee are sustained by the conversations we have had with colleagues across schools and departments, and we are grateful for the trust our colleagues have placed in CFU. But it has not just been us. We want to thank the dedicated staff of the Organizing Department of UAW Region 9A, who have assisted us since we affiliated with the UAW in 2017. And we want to thank the 400,000 UAW members across the country, including over 100,000 higher ed members, whose dues paid their salaries and who believed in and supported our campaign.

Tonight we celebrate, and then we will take a well earned rest. But we look forward to seeing you next Friday to chart our first steps as a recognized union.

In joy and solidarity,

Your Organizing Committee
Contract Faculty United – UAW