NYU professors vote ‘Yes,’ authorizing strike action

Faculty at NYU inched closer to a possible strike on Monday after its union overwhelmingly voted to authorize a walkout, citing stalled contract negotiations with school leadership.

Non-tenure track contract faculty at the Manhattan institution voted 90% in favor of authorizing their elected bargaining committee to call a strike—if necessary. Voting was open between Feb. 9 and Feb. 20; 694 ballots were cast with 657 voting in favor of a strike.

Contract Faculty United-United Auto Workers (CFU-UAW), the union representing the 950 full-time non-tenure-track professors, has not yet set a strike deadline, giving NYU administrators time to work out a deal featuring “fair contract terms.”

CFU-UAW first authorized a vote just days after its 23rd bargaining session with school leadership on Jan. 30. This is the first contract the professors would have since they unionized in February 2024.

The union’s demands focus on compensation, job security, academic freedom, AI and workload.

It’s ‘past time’ for a fair contract, NYU professors say

Brendan Hogan, Ph.D., a clinical professor in liberal studies at NYU, said academic freedom is a key point in contract negotiations. Without academic freedom, professors feel they are limited in their ability to freely pursue certain topics or teach what they believe is the truth, especially when political climates shift and create external pressures.

“What contract faculty want is just contractual guarantees that their academic freedom is as protected as our tenured track and tenured colleagues,” the professor explained. “Because it’s not only about protecting us, but protecting the mission of the university in a democratic society.”

Hogan, who has taught at NYU for 18 years, said non-tenure-track professors are seeking a contract that would address disparities between them and their tenured colleagues.

“We’re one of the chambers of the heart of the university that is very central for its functioning,” Hogan said. “We also just felt the pinch of what is the greatest city in the world, as people say, with inflation and other things. So, our living standards were declining because our salaries weren’t keeping up with that.”

Benedetta Piantella, an elected member of the bargaining committee, said the vote speaks volumes for the union’s mission. Voter turnout was high, with nearly 75% of all contract faculty participating.

“Our colleagues gave us an overwhelming mandate,” Piantella, who is also an industry associate professor in the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, said. “It’s been two years since we won our union representation election and almost 16 months since contract negotiations began. It’s past time for the administration to settle a fair contract.”

NYU says it’s made ‘good faith offers’

Meanwhile, NYU leadership told amNewYork that the union has not yet agreed to an impartial mediator to help settle a fair contract.

“Instead of joining us, the union has authorized a strike, risking disruption to thousands of students’ education to gain leverage at the bargaining table,” said Joseph Tirella, a spokesperson for NYU. “We have made good faith offers that put NYU’s unionized contract faculty among the best paid nationally, and we will stay at the bargaining table.”

In the meantime, school administrators are preparing for the possibility of a walkout.

“At the same time, it is our responsibility to prepare for the possibility of a strike and to do all we can to maintain the academic progress of our students, which we are fully committed to doing,” Tirella said.

School leadership and the union plan to return to the bargaining table on Feb. 27.