Hundreds of non-tenured faculty at New York University officially went on strike after the deadline for a deal passed on Monday.

The Contract Faculty United Union, which represents the staff, said that the strike began at 11 a.m. The original deadline to begin striking was 8 a.m. Monday, but the union said it had given the NYU administration a 3-hour extension. The administration allegedly began reviewing the new proposals the union sent over at 10:50 a.m., which the union said was too late. 

As a result, around 900 staff members began picketing at the John A. Paulson Center on Mercer Street in NoHo. 

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Staff members began striking right as the 11 a.m. deadline passed. 

CBS New York

Negotiations have been going on for months and continued throughout the night Sunday as the deadline loomed. The union said it had gotten closer on “appointment and reappointment, promotion, grievance, arbitration and performance evaluations,” but they are “far from the administration in other areas.” The union has said it wants to address decades of low pay compared to tenured faculty at the school and protections for faculty participation in academic decisions.

Both NYU and the union said that negotiations will continue through the strike.   

NYU statement on strike

NYU called the strike “fundamentally unnecessary” in a statement on Monday.

“They chose to strike even after the University remained at the bargaining table through the weekend and overnight. We presented a generous and comprehensive package that would improve the lives of every one of its members, including significant raises, the highest minimum salaries of any unionized contract faculty in the country, and comprehensive benefits, including enhanced family care,” NYU’s chief communications officer, Wiley Norvell, said in a statement.  

The school has previously accused the union of trying to “disrupt thousands of students’ education” and said that “the University has been pressing to resolve this contract through an independent mediator for the past five months.”  

Classes at NYU to continue

The school said that classes will continue on Monday. Around 25% of classes are expected to be impacted by the strike. NYU said it is considering remote learning, while some classes may be covered by substitutes, including outside instructors and other NYU faculty. Classes taught by tenured professors are expected to continue normally. 

“We are committed to maintaining our students’ academic progress during this strike,” the school said. 

Students at the school have spoken out in support of the faculty, saying that they hope the school understands how much students care about the issue. 

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