Last semester, over one hundred contract faculty from across NYU came together in escalation workshops to discuss next steps in our campaign. In December, faculty from every school, and nearly every department, signed a letter voicing strong support for a strike authorization vote, which would allow our elected Bargaining Committee to call a strike if it’s necessary to win a fair contract.
With higher education under attack, we hoped that the administration would understand the stakes of this moment. We hoped that they would see that our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions. We hoped that they would listen to contract faculty across the university threatening a strike authorization vote. On Friday, we learned we were wrong.
We brought significant compromises in key areas to Friday’s bargaining session: retirement benefits, health insurance premiums, leaves of absence, non-discrimination, family care benefits, and even what administrative work should fall outside the scope of our union. We showed the administration were serious about making a deal to secure a contract.
In response, we hoped to see the administration make real progress on compensation, retirement, and individual development accounts; agree to defend our non-citizen colleagues; and guarantee that faculty will retain a shared role in academic decision making at the university, especially in appointment, reappointment, and promotion decisions. Unfortunately, the administration did not make the moves we were looking for.
Watch Elisabeth Fay (FAS) and Dustin Jones (SPS) describe Friday’s bargaining session.
We would still prefer to not have to strike, but we are ready to demonstrate that our work is essential to NYU’s operations. We formed our union because the administration’s unilateral authority over our working lives had created unfair and unsustainable conditions — for us, for our careers, for our families, and for our students. Our demands are neither unreasonable nor unrealistic; they reflect the essential and unique role that contract faculty play at NYU, the high cost of living in NYC, and the particular dangers academia faces right now. Securing our jobs in a fair and legally-enforceable contract is the best way we know to protect ourselves, our colleagues, our profession, and the integrity of the education we offer.
Nearly two years have passed since contract faculty voted 89% to form CFU-UAW in our union election, and majority support for our contract priorities has never wavered. Despite this clear mandate, the administration has made little movement to address long-standing problems with our compensation, job security, and workload, and it has proposed several policies that would leave us worse off than we are now. We have waited long enough.
We, your elected Bargaining Committee, are calling for a strike authorization vote starting on Monday, February 9th, 2026.
Voting to authorize a strike will not trigger a strike automatically; it will empower your Bargaining Committee to set a strike deadline and call a strike if necessary. You can find more information about the strike authorization vote on our website. The more of us who participate, the more effectively we can advocate for fair terms at the bargaining table.
Faculty will receive an email with a digital ballot the morning of Monday, February 9th. Voting will remain open until Friday, February 20th. Eligible voters are current NYU contract faculty who have filled out a CFU-UAW authorization card. If you have not yet yet signed an authorization card, you may do so during the voting period to receive your ballot.
Let us know why you’re planning to vote ‘yes’ and sign our vote pledge here.
If you have questions, please review the FAQ on our website, or reply to this email to be connected with an organizer from your school. We also invite you to join us at Scratcher (209 E. 5th Street) from 6-8 pm tonight — members of CFU’s organizing and bargaining committees are eager to answer questions and bring more contract faculty into strategy discussions.
Voting to authorize a strike allows us to come together with one voice and send an unambiguous message to the NYU administration: we know the value of our work, and we’re ready to stand together to protect it. If they’re unwilling to agree to fair terms, they can expect a strike.
In solidarity,
CFU-UAW BARGAINING COMMITTEE
Richard Dorritie (Rory Meyers College of Nursing)
Elisabeth Fay (Expository Writing Program, Arts & Science)
Robin Harvey (Teaching and Learning, Steinhardt)
Thomas Hill (Center for Global Affairs, SPS)
Peter Li (General Engineering, Tandon)
Benedetta Piantella (Technology, Culture, and Society, Tandon)
Jacob Remes (Gallatin School of Individualized Study)
Chris Chan Roberson (Undergraduate Film & TV, Tisch)
Jamie Root (French Literature, Thought and Culture, Arts & Science)
Fanny Shum (Mathematics, Courant Institute)
Heidi White (Liberal Studies)