Around 80 students packed a Global Spiritual Life classroom on Friday evening to learn how they can support NYU’s contract faculty union ahead of its potential strike — currently set to start in two weeks.
Hosted by Contract Faculty United and NYU’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America, the workshop came just over a week after the union announced plans to strike on March 23 if it does not reach an agreement with the university. CFU representatives Elisabeth Fay and Jacob Remes — who spent the day in negotiation sessions with administrators — stressed that striking is a difficult choice for professors, who are concerned about disrupting their students’ education.
“Contract faculty have made the decision that we are ready to go on strike because we care about your education,” Fay said during the event. “We are fighting for contract protections that are about our working conditions, but that are also about your learning conditions.”
Fay said that the union’s contract demands would make NYU “a better place to learn” for students, while ensuring an improved quality of life for professors. She said that when she’s raised the possibility of a strike with her students, their response has been predominantly positive.
During the Q&A portion of the event, one student asked if they should attend classes that will be taught by a substitute during the strike.
“I do not think that a scab substitute hired at the last minute is going to be able to pick up the instructional materials that any of us are using in the classroom,” Fay answered. “I told my students that I doubted very strongly that it would be a valuable educational experience. I do encourage them to follow their conscience.”
CFU — which represents over 900 full-time faculty — began bargaining in November 2024 and has since focused on issues including salaries, job security and protections for noncitizen faculty members. Two weeks ago, two-thirds of union members voted to authorize a strike if administrators do not meet their demands.
Tapuwanashe Hightower, a Gallatin senior and YDSA member who helped organize the workshop, told WSN that she wanted to counter administrators’ communication around the strike — which she said has left students “misdirected.” President Linda Mills has publicly denounced the strike, claiming the union’s demands are unrealistic as NYU faces financial stress.
“It’s very intentional that the administration doesn’t always tell the full story,” Hightower said. “Even though we talk about how important student power is, we fail to actually include students in these conversations, when we are also impacted by what’s happening to our contract faculty.”
Fay told students that NYU has become a “corporatized university” and referenced former university President John Sexton, who she said sought to “destroy tenure at NYU,” leading to a rise in contract faculty. Sexton was ousted in 2013 after a no-confidence vote by the university’s arts and science faculty, with critics arguing that he was motivated by financial benefits rather than academic ones.
Attendees broke into five groups and painted picket signs, drafted pro-union email templates, practiced speaking on labor issues, created a zine and filmed a video showcasing support for the union.
“I felt confident, if the strike happens, that there will be resounding solidarity from all NYU community members,” Tisch junior and NYU YDSA organizing committee member Rory Fox told WSN. “I was touched seeing the emotion in the room and how much people were connecting with each other, especially people they never met, over shared interest in this issue.”
Contact Alex Woodworth at [email protected].