We’re Voting Yes for a Stronger NYU!
Election Details:
Voting Times:
Tuesday, February 27, 8am-7pm
Wednesday, February 28, 8am-7pm
Voting Locations:
Washington Square: Kimmel, Room 405-406
Tandon/Brooklyn: 5 Metrotech, room LC 400 4th Floor.
By voting “yes” to form our union, we as NYU Contract Faculty will for the first time gain the ability to bargain collectively as equals with the NYU administration. With a union, the NYU administration will have a legal obligation to negotiate with elected members of the contract faculty over our pay, benefits, and workplace protections – and to secure any agreements on improvements or maintaining current benefits in an enforceable contract. All contract faculty will be able to participate in the bargaining process through surveys, town halls, bargaining updates, and more. Every contract faculty will have the opportunity to vote on whether or not to ratify any proposed contract before it goes into effect.
Through thousands of conversations over many years, contract faculty have expressed challenges with issues ranging from increasing workload without sufficient recognition, to salaries that do not keep pace with NYC’s high cost of living, inadequate benefits, and insufficient protections and support for international faculty. These challenges add to the stress experienced by contract faculty and exacerbates inequities in higher education.
Right now, the NYU administration unilaterally decides if, when, and how to address challenges faced by contract faculty. With collective bargaining, we can meet at the bargaining table as equals. With strong participation and support from the entire contract faculty community, we can bargain for a fair union contract that makes needed improvements to our working conditions.
Additionally, over 100,000 other academic workers across the country – including fellow full-time non-tenure track faculty, adjunct faculty, graduate employees, postdocs, and research scientists – have also chosen to become part of the UAW and bargain collectively for stronger protections and improvements. Taken together, this is driving rapid improvements in higher education like higher wages, improved healthcare benefits, protections from discrimination, sexual harassment, and abusive conduct, better job security, parental leave and childcare support, and more support for international scholars. That’s why our colleagues across NYU are voting “yes”, so we can build a stronger collective voice and bargain together to make the improvements that are important to us at NYU, and continue to make higher education better for all academic workers.
CFU-UAW Articles and Information:
The Chief: Non-tenured professors will hold a union election
Washington Square News: Contract faculty union to vote on formal recognition
Jacobin: NYU’s Full-Time Contingent Faculty Look Set to Win a Union
Op-ed – Why a Contract Faculty Union? Asli Peker, International Relations
Hyperallergic: March 1, 2023: NYU’s Non-Tenured Faculty Rally for a Union
Joining UAW and Unions in Higher Education
In 2017, after seeing the success of unionization efforts by other academic workers at NYU and around the country, a group of contract faculty reached out to UAW for help forming a union. Being part of a larger national union, along with over 100,000 other academic employees, ensures that contract faculty have access to the resources and expertise necessary to negotiate with a major university that regularly bargains with thousands of other employees. As part of UAW, we will elect our own union bargaining team, negotiate towards an agreement with NYU over our working conditions, and vote on our own union contract.
Over 100,000 academic employees across the US have already chosen to join UAW, including non-tenure track faculty at Wellesley, Barnard, the New School, UMass Lowell. Non-tenure track instructors and researchers at Harvard also recently announced they are organizing with UAW. More importantly, thousands of academic workers across NYC have formed unions with the UAW since the early 2000s, and at NYU adjunct faculty and graduate workers have established a strong UAW presence on our campus. We are proud to have the support of our grad and adjunct colleagues, and to be able to draw on their deep experience in collective bargaining with the NYU administration.
By uniting together, academic employees are driving up standards in higher education and building a powerful voice for non-tenure track faculty, grad workers, postdocs, and research scientists.
More on Unionized workers making a national impact:
Gallup: More in U.S. See Unions Strengthening and Want It That Way
Data Snapshot: Tenure and Contingency in US Higher Education
Scenes from Hollywood’s Hot Labor Summer
We are feeling the solidarity pouring in! Vote UnionYES this week!
Big thanks to our @uaw7902 brother @leesean for his solidarity. He’s seen the value of being in academic unions and urges NYU contract faculty to vote next Tuesday and Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/jAMyjCONhZ
— CFU UAW (@CfuUaw) February 22, 2024
Solidarity from our colleagues at Wellesley!
The full-time, non-tenure track faculty at Wellesley voted strongly for their union @WOAWUAW last month, and they’ve got our backs now. Together, across the university and across the academy, we’re stronger. pic.twitter.com/KudiSLCWHm
— CFU UAW (@CfuUaw) February 23, 2024
Adjunct Faculty at the USC School of Cinematic Arts just voted union yes!
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