Last week, contract faculty across the university sent an unambiguous message to the NYU administration: with a turnout of 75%, 90% of us voted to authorize a strike.
Tonight, we made it even clearer: unless the administration starts negotiating with us fairly and settles the strong contract we need and deserve, we will strike on Monday, March 23, beginning at 8am.
This is not a decision we made lightly: we made it because the administration has repeatedly broken the law by refusing to negotiate with us over housing and retiree health benefits; by unilaterally changing the terms and conditions of the jobs of our colleagues in schools such as Courant and Steinhardt; and starting this week, by attempting to intimidate our non-union colleagues into crossing our potential picket lines.
These unfair labor practices come after 16 months of negotiations in which the administration has refused to agree to our demands to make NYU a better place: a healthy and just university that rests on academic freedom and job security, compensation and benefits that support our lives, and time for ourselves and our families.
We had hoped that after our overwhelming strike vote, the administration would come prepared with serious offers that responded to contract faculty’s demands. We saw some movement today, but not enough. We will send a full bargaining update over the weekend, but here’s the short version: no significant raises for 73% of us, a median raise of only 3%, and no fix to salary compression whatsoever.
That’s not all — or rather, that is all. The administration is still refusing to address overwork. They are still refusing to protect our international colleagues. They are still trying to end peer review for reappointment and promotion, and to curtail our participation in the shared governance of our schools and departments.
We know that there is no academic freedom without job security. We know that we deserve a contract that values our years of service and our many contributions to the university. They have not heard us.
They have three weeks to get the message. If they don’t, half of NYU’s full-time faculty will strike on March 23.
Here are some ways to get more involved:
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Connect with colleagues in your department to join our efforts. To get more involved in organizing for mass participation, reach out to cfu.uaw@gmail.com and an organizer will be in touch. Stay tuned for additional information.
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Talk with tenured faculty colleagues about the importance of their solidarity & support: Ask tenured faculty to sign this letter urging the administration to reach a fair agreement that avoids a strike.
Additional Resources: FAQ and Bargaining Information
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Strike FAQ: See our Frequently Asked Questions for more information about the upcoming strike. We will continue to update this page with new questions — please reach out to cfu.uaw@gmail.com with any concerns, or colleagues in your department.
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Bargaining Information: Proposals, updates, and more are available on our website, https://
nyucontractfacultyunion.org/.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions.
In solidarity,
Contract Faculty United – UAW Bargaining Committee
Benedetta Piantella (Technology, Culture, and Society, Tandon)
Chris Chan Roberson (Undergraduate Film & TV, Tisch)
Elisabeth Fay (Expository Writing Program, Arts & Science)
Fanny Shum (Mathematics, Courant Institute)
Heidi White (Liberal Studies)
Jacob Remes (Gallatin School of Individualized Study)
Jamie Root (French Literature, Thought and Culture, Arts & Science)
Peter Li (General Engineering, Tandon)
Richard Dorritie (Rory Meyers College of Nursing)
Robin Harvey (Teaching and Learning, Steinhardt)
Thomas Hill (Center for Global Affairs, SPS)