Non-Union Undergrad Workers

CFU-UAW (contract faculty) may go on strike. After more than a year of bargaining with little progress from the NYU administration on the priorities most important to contract faculty, a supermajority of CFU members have voted to authorize a strike, with a deadline of Monday, March 23rd for the NYU administration to bargain in good faith and agree to a fair contract. You can learn more about CFU’s Strike Authorization Vote here.

When one union at a workplace wins improvements, it raises the standards for everyone — even workers who aren’t covered by a union contract. Core demands of CFU’s contract proposals include improvements to compensation, academic freedom, childcare benefits for parents, rights for international faculty, and real support for professional development and research. Contract faculty working conditions are students’ learning conditions. When the administration attempts to create divisions between different groups of workers, we exercise our power most effectively by remaining united in our support. 

We are not asking for student workers to strike. Undergrad workers should feel free to continue performing their normal assigned duties, but they should not take on struck work that belongs to the striking contract faculty we work with.

If a strike occurs, the NYU administration may try to limit its effectiveness by shifting contract faculty work onto other workers. In fact, some undergrad TAs have already heard requests about taking over work normally performed by contract faculty.

The single most powerful way to show solidarity with CFU is to refuse to take on work normally performed by contract faculty. Hiring substitutes (“scabs”) is a common tactic that employers use to limit the disruption caused by a strike and gain leverage at the negotiating table. To help CFU raise standards at NYU and defend the integrity of an NYU education, it is essential that other workers don’t undermine our strike by taking over our work. Instead, TAs and other undergrad workers should politely decline to do struck work, and show solidarity by visiting CFU’s picket line(s).

NYU’s most common strike-breaking tactic is to engineer small, temporary labor transfers: “Can you cover this once?” / “Can you help us out for a week?” / “It’s only for this event.” That is exactly how strikes get undermined. If a task is not part of your normal assignment and it fills a gap created by a striking CFU member, it’s almost certainly struck work.

Decline. Keep it simple and boring: “I’m afraid I’m not available to take this assignment.” That’s it. No explanation required. 

The administration cannot legally retaliate if you choose not to take struck work, and it is unlikely that they would pressure undergraduate workers, but it’s always good to keep a record.

If you are asked to do struck work in a way that feels coercive, you can still use the same response: “I’m afraid I’m not available.” If the pressuring language appears in an email, forward it to cfu.uaw@gmail.com so we can help you assess the situation.

If you are made an offer verbally, document it right after: Date/time, who asked, what they asked you to do, and any pressuring language used. Email the details to cfu.uaw@gmail.com so we can help you assess the situation.