BIG NEWS!
We are excited to announce that we have reached an agreement with the NYU administration that allows us to vote “YES” for our union!
On January 3, we — contract faculty from across campus — came together in Bobst to sign this historic agreement, which will let us vote in a neutral election. If a majority of contract faculty voting choose “UNION YES,” we can collectively bargain to improve our jobs and our job security.
We signed this agreement after ten months of negotiations — and, more importantly, after organizing, talking to colleagues, and being visible in our support. In it, the NYU administration has committed to respect our right to vote on unionization in a fair election, to stay neutral, and to bargain with us if a majority vote “UNION YES.”
We know that we do the work that makes NYU work. Our scholarship builds NYU’s reputation. Our service work keeps the gears turning. And we do a massive portion of the teaching that fulfills NYU’s educational mission.
Winning this election agreement is an important achievement as we work to secure a stronger voice over our working conditions. We have had consistent majority support for unionization from faculty across campus for many semesters. Now that we have won the right to an election, the next step is to vote “YES” and win our union.
FAQ
How were we able to achieve this agreement with the NYU administration?
A growing majority of contract faculty have supported Contract Faculty United-UAW and collective bargaining for many years. Knowing that other university administrations had challenged the right of full-time, non-tenure track faculty to unionize, we sought to avoid potentially lengthy litigation by pursuing a direct agreement instead of seeking recognition through the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Last spring, a majority of contract faculty signed a public letter urging the NYU administration to agree to a fair and efficient process to verify our support. After a number of meetings to work out details last spring through fall semester, we reached this agreement.
Winning this agreement took all of us. Contract faculty across the university organized, were visible, and came to public demonstrations of our broad support. Dozens of us came to each meeting with the administration’s lawyers, and still more came together for Planning Assemblies at which we carefully deliberated and democratically voted on each proposal. You can read this statement from 100 contract faculty across each part of campus who participated in reaching our agreement, and are now encouraging our colleagues to vote “YES” in our historic election. This democratic openness is a core tenet of our union, and it is why we have won this agreement. We are proud of our process and of this result.
You can read the full election agreement on our website here.
How were we able to achieve this agreement with the NYU administration?
A growing majority of contract faculty have supported Contract Faculty United-UAW and collective bargaining for many years. Knowing that other university administrations had challenged the right of full-time, non-tenure track faculty to unionize, we sought to avoid potentially lengthy litigation by pursuing a direct agreement instead of seeking recognition through the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Last spring, a majority of contract faculty signed a public letter urging the NYU administration to agree to a fair and efficient process to verify our support. After a number of meetings to work out details last spring through fall semester, we reached this agreement.
Winning this agreement took all of us. Contract faculty across the university organized, were visible, and came to public demonstrations of our broad support. Dozens of us came to each meeting with the administration’s lawyers, and still more came together for Planning Assemblies at which we carefully deliberated and democratically voted on each proposal. You can read this statement from 100 contract faculty across each part of campus who participated in reaching our agreement, and are now encouraging our colleagues to vote “YES” in our historic election. This democratic openness is a core tenet of our union, and it is why we have won this agreement. We are proud of our process and of this result.
You can read the full election agreement on our website here.
What is the difference between establishing our union through this agreement with the NYU administration and going through the government?
Seeking recognition through the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) could have delayed our ability to vote on unionization. To avoid that, we fought for and won what is called a “voluntary election,” which means that we and the administration agreed on a process to verify our support without going through the NLRB. Instead, we and the administration agreed to work with the American Arbitration Association (AAA) to oversee the election. The route we have opted for is also stronger in several ways than going through the NLRB process. Should any election disputes arise, the administration has agreed to a timely enforcement process that will be much faster than what we could expect at the NLRB. The NYU administration has also committed in advance to bargain, whereas some other university administrations have refused to bargain even after faculty voted in an NLRB election to establish their union.
We also negotiated a historic agreement over who will be in the bargaining unit. Rather than accept a narrow and legalistic definition of “employee” that has been distorted to exclude professors because of service work, we and the administration agreed that professors are workers and should have the right to unionize. Only administrators (chairs, deans, and up) and people whose work is half administrative will not be in the union, and this will only be the case while they are in their administrative positions.
What are the main highlights of the agreement?
Below are some highlights from our election agreement:
- An inclusive potential bargaining unit that would be the largest full-time non-tenure track faculty union in the country: If we win, we will be showing colleagues around the country how to build their unions to improve their jobs and defend their academic freedom.
- Commitment to neutrality: The NYU administration agrees that the decision to unionize is that of the faculty alone, and it will remain neutral, tell our bosses to stay neutral, and will respect the results of our vote.
- Timely enforcement of our rights: There will be an expeditious process for enforcing our agreement if the administration violates its commitment to neutrality.
- Commitment from the NYU administration to bargain if faculty vote to unionize: The administration must bargain in good faith immediately upon a majority vote.
You can read the full neutrality and election agreement on our website here.
Who will be eligible to vote in the election and participate in our union?
Contract faculty are eligible to vote on unionization if they spend the majority of their work-time teaching and researching in the following NYU schools: the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, including Liberal Studies, the Institute of Fine Arts, and the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World; the Tisch School of the Arts; the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development; the Tandon School of Engineering; the School of Professional Studies; the Rory Meyers College of Nursing; the Gallatin School of Individualized Study; the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences; the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service; the Silver School of Social Work; the School of Global Public Health; and the Division of Libraries.
As at other unionized universities, like Rutgers University, faculty who spend half of their time performing duties in specific administrative roles are not in the potential bargaining unit during their term in that role. Likewise, administrators with underlying contract faculty appointments, like chairs, deans, provosts, and the like, including directors of non-department programs who act as chairs to contract faculty, will not be in the union during their administrative terms. Vice- and assistant chairs are included in the bargaining unit. If you have questions about voter eligibility, please email contractfacultyunited@gmail.com, and a colleague will get back to you.
Is NYU obligated to bargain with us? How can the union make the NYU administration agree to anything?
If a majority of voters vote for the union, the NYU administration has now legally committed to bargain collectively with CFU-UAW. As far as getting the NYU administration to agree to anything in particular in bargaining, that will be no different than under the NLRB process – ultimately, what we end up winning in our first contract will depend on how much power we bring to the negotiating table, which starts with having a decisive “YES” vote in the election.
If we vote in favor of unionization, what happens next?
After a majority of contract faculty vote “YES” on unionization, Contract Faculty United – UAW will be officially recognized as our union. Once CFU-UAW has been recognized by NYU, we will start the process of negotiating a contract with the administration:
- We elect a bargaining committee from among contract faculty at NYU;
- The bargaining committee will develop initial bargaining goals based on surveys, and we will vote to ratify these goals;
- The committee will meet with NYU administration representatives to negotiate in pursuit of our bargaining goals;
- When our committee has negotiated a tentative agreement they feel they can recommend, contract faculty will vote whether to ratify it as our first contract;
- The bargaining committee will be aided throughout by experienced negotiators and other UAW representatives;
- After the contract is ratified, the membership will elect representatives who help run the Local Union, ensure that NYU does not violate the terms of the contract, and represent members with grievances and other workplace issues.
We Won a Fair Election Agreement, now we’re excited to Vote YES for our Union!
Dear Contract Faculty Colleagues:
Last spring, a majority of contract faculty – over 500 of us from across NYU – called on then-President Hamilton to meet and work out a fair process by which the NYU administration would recognize our union, Contract Faculty United – UAW, and start to bargain collectively with us.
Today, we are proud to announce that the administration has agreed to a fair election process, and that we will all soon have the opportunity to vote for our union.
For ten months, we met with the administration to negotiate a strong and fair election agreement so all of us would have the opportunity to vote on forming our union. We demonstrated that our work makes the university work — and most of all, we proved our unity, our solidarity, and our power. Contract faculty in each school and discipline came together throughout this process to determine priorities on each proposal. This democratic openness and participation is a core tenet of our union.
Winning this agreement took all of us. It’s the result of over five years of strong, persistent support for unionization by contract faculty from all over NYU. Now we are excited to take our opportunity to Vote YES.
Here are just some highlights from our agreement. You can read a full summary on our website:
- We will finally exercise our right to vote to establish CFU-UAW as our union through a democratic, fair process: contract faculty will have the opportunity to vote on unionization in a secret ballot election run by the American Arbitration Association.
- The NYU administration will remain neutral and respect the results of our vote: the administration will remain neutral during our union election, and also agree to bargain immediately upon a majority vote for our Union.
- Our vote would establish the largest full-time non-tenure track faculty union at any private university. Virtually all contract faculty who spend a majority of their time teaching will now have the chance to exercise their democratic right to choose to form our union and set standards nationally.
NYU is a union campus – already, our adjunct and graduate worker colleagues are UAW members, and thousands of other workers on campus have collective bargaining. If we win our election, we will be the largest union of full-time, non-tenure track, university faculty at a private institution in the country. We are making higher education history!
We have won the right to a fair election,
Join us and commit to voting yes!
Adam Meyers, Clinical Associate Professor, Computer Science
Adriana Bonfield, Clinical Associate Professor, Italian
Ahmed Ansari, Industry Assistant Professor, Technology, Culture and Society
Alice Teyssier, Clinical Assistant Professor, Music
Allen Fogelsanger, Assistant Arts Professor, Dance
Amira Pierce, Clinical Associate Professor, Expository Writing Program
Amos Bloomberg, Clinical Associate Professor, Computer Science
Andrew Sanfratello, Clinical Assistant Professor, Courant – Mathematics
Ann Macy Roth, Clinical Professor, Art History
Anne DeWitt, Clinical Associate Professor, Gallatin
Asli Peker, Clinical Professor, International Relations
Benedetta Piantella, Industry Associate Professor, Technology, Culture and Society
Beth Bauer, Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychology
Blair Simmons, Assistant Arts Professor, Interactive Telecommunications Program / Interactive Media Arts Program (ITP/IMA)
Carla Sampson, Clinical Professor of Healthcare Management and Public Service
Chris Chan Roberson, Distinguished Teacher, Undergraduate Film and TV
Christina Van Houten, Clinical Associate Professor, Expository Writing Program
Chyng Sun, Clinical Professor of Media Studies, Division of Applied Undergraduate Studies
Cyrus Beroukhim, Music Associate Professor, Music and Performing Arts Professions
David Brooks, Clinical Assistant Professor, Gallatin
David Rios, Assistant Arts Professor, Interactive Telecommunications Program / Interactive Media Arts Program (ITP/IMA)
Dongmin Kim, Clinical Associate Professor, East Asian Studies
Doreen Densky, Clinical Associate Professor, German
Duncan Osborne, Lecturer, General Engineering
Editha Mesina, Assistant Arts Professor, Photography
Elisabeth Fay, Clinical Associate Professor, Expository Writing Program
Ellen Noonan, Clinical Associate Professor, History
Emily Bauman, Clinical Associate Professor, Liberal Studies
Emily Goldmann, Clinical Associate Professor, Global Public Health
Enrique Del Risco, Clinical Associate Professor, Spanish and Portuguese Studies
Erez Hatna, Clinical Associate Professor of Epidimiology, Global Public Health
Ernesto Lira de la Rosa, Clinical Assistant Professor, Applied Psychology
Esther Truzman, Clinical Associate Professor, Spanish and Portuguese Studies
Ethan Balk, Clinical Associate Professor, Nutrition Education
Fanny Shum, Clinical Assistant Professor, Courant – Mathematics
Frédéric Viguier, Clinical Associate Professor, Institute of French Studies
Ger O’Donoghue, Clinical Associate Professor, Expository Writing Program
Gita DasBender, Clinical Associate Professor, Expository Writing Program
Hannah Gurman, Clinical Associate Professor, Gallatin
Hari Kunzru, Clinical Associate Professor, Creative Writing
Heather Woodley, Clinical Associate Professor of TESOL, Bilingual Education, and World Language Education
Heidi White, Clinical Professor, Liberal Studies
Hong Zhao, Clinical Assistant Professor, Chemistry
Ian Reed, Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychology
Ingrid Paredes, Industry Assistant Professor, General Engineering
Jacob Remes, Clinical Associate Professor, Gallatin
Jamie Root, Clinical Associate Professor, French
Jared McCormick, Clinical Assistant Professor, Near Eastern Studies
Jared Simard, Clinical Assistant Professor, Liberal Studies
Jeannie Im, Clinical Professor, Expository Writing Program (Tandon)
Jeesun Park, Clinical Associate Professor, East Asian Studies
Jennifer Nahum, Clinical Assistant Professor, Nursing
Jennifer Zoble, Clinical Associate Professor, Liberal Studies
Jeremy Nelson, Associate Arts Professor, Dance
Jessamine Irwin, Clinical Associate Professor, French
Jessie Keyt, Assistant Arts Professor, Dramatic Writing
Joanna Klukowska, Clinical Associate Professor, Courant – Computer Science
Joe Esposito, Clinical Assistant Professor, Courant – Mathematics (Tandon)
Joe Osmundson, Clinical Assistant Professor, Biology
Johann Jaeckel, Clinical Associate Professor, Liberal Studies
Jonathan Cayer, Clinical Associate Professor, French
John Gershman, Clinical Professor of Public Service, Wagner
John Tintori, Associate Arts Professor, Graduate Film
John Waters, Clinical Associate Professor, Irish Studies
Jon Ritter, Clinical Professor, Art History
Juhi Malhotra, Clinical Assistant Professor, Social Work
Karla Rodriguez, Clinical Assistant Professor, Nursing
Ken Cereste, Lecturer, Courant – Mathematics (Tandon)
Kristin Horton, Associate Professor of Practice, Gallatin
Linell Ajello, Clinical Associate Professor, Expository Writing Program (Tandon)
Mark Braley, Clinical Associate Professor, Expository Writing Program
Mark Jenkinson, Assistant Arts Professor, Photography
Matthew Leingang, Clinical Professor, Mathematics
Matt Longabucco, Clinical Associate Professor, Liberal Studies
Matt Rohrer, Clinical Professor, Creative Writing
Mauricio Salgado, Assistant Arts Professor, Drama
Meghan Bennet, Music Assistant Professor of Woodwind Studies, Music and Performing Arts Professions
Michele Crespo-Fierro, Clinical Associate Professor, Nursing
Mikki Meadows, Clinical Associate Professor, Nursing
Milos Bujisic, Clinical Associate Professor, Division of Programs in Business
Mitra Rastegar, Clinical Assocaite Professor, Liberal Studies
Nicholas Lanzieri, Clinical Associate Professor, Social Work
Nina Katchadourian, Clinical Professor, Gallatin
Normandy Sherwood, Clinical Associate Professor, Expository Writing Program
Olivia Birdsall, Clinical Associate Professor, Expository Writing Program
Peggy Gormley, Associate Arts Professor, Undergraduate Film and TV
Peter Li, Industry Assistant Professor, General Engineering
Pierre Lacour, Clinical Associate Professor, Division of Applied Undergraduate Studies
Richard Dorritie, Clinical Assistant Professor, Nursing
Robin Harvey, Clinical Associate Professor, Teaching & Learning
Salim Arfaoui, Industry Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering
Sarah Rothberg, Assistant Arts Professor, Interactive Telecommunications Program / Interactive Media Arts Program (ITP/IMA)
Scott Fitzgerald, Industry Associate Professor, Technology Culture and Society
Susanna Horng, Clinical Professor, Liberal Studies
Tatjana Krstevski, Assistant Arts Professor, Graduate Film
Tom Hill, Clinical Professor, Global Affairs
Tom Reddington, Industry Professor, Computer Science and Engineering
Vanja Bogicevic, Clinical Associate Professor, J.M. Tisch Center of Hospitality
Xiaohong Hou, Clinical Associate Professor, East Asian Studies
Zhihua An, Clinical Associate Professor, Chemistry