This is a developing story, check back for updates.
Update, 3 p.m.
NYU closed ongoing negotiations to contract faculty not on the union’s bargaining committee and has yet to publicly respond to the CFU’s most recent proposal, as around 300 students and faculty continue picketing outside the Paulson Center.
CFU member Matthew Rohrer told WSN that while NYU’s lawyers “informally responded” to the proposal that contract faculty presented yesterday afternoon, they have not publicly issued any counterproposals. The university is also no longer allowing contract faculty not on the union’s 11-member bargaining committee to watch negotiations via Zoom, after the meetings consistently saw 150-300 viewers on Sunday and Monday.
“I don’t know why that is, I haven’t heard of that happening before,” Rohrer said. “It might just mean they want no distractions — but now it’s just the bargaining committee.”
Several other union members also told WSN that they were unsure where current negotiations stand — with key issues including compensation and research funding still up for deliberation. The group of CFU members and supporters, now circling Paulson with signs reading “One faculty. One resistance.” and “MY PAY DOESN’T EVEN COVER CHILDCARE,” is set to continue picketing until 4 p.m. before moving the demonstration to NYU’s Brooklyn campus tomorrow.
“We are committed to actively negotiating in good faith,” NYU spokesperson Joseph Tirella told WSN. “That continues to happen today.”
Local politicians and student groups joined hundreds of union members for a series of speeches around 11 a.m. — 24 hours after the strike began — and rallied the crowd, proclaiming support for the union and calling for NYU to meet its demands for higher salaries, better housing opportunities and a bigger say in university governance. Former City Comptroller Brad Lander, who has attended the union’s rallies since it was first recognized in 2024, met the bargaining committee members at the rally this morning before addressing the crowd.
“The future of higher education in the United States is on the line right here at NYU at this picket line,” Lander said. “Higher education is under attack from Trump and MAGA forces but that can not be an excuse for university leaders to union bust.”
Lander emphasized that NYU’s 950-member contract faculty union — the largest of its kind in the country — has garnered national attention, saying that the pending contract will set a precedent for labor agreements at universities across the country. Councilmember Harvey Epstein, who represents Greenwich Village and surrounding neighborhoods, also joined the picket earlier in the morning.
Samantha Kattan, a congressional candidate representing Queens, said that as a tenant organizer, she understands what it’s like to help renters know their rights and fight against associations with more power and money.
“Don’t let anyone tell you what you are asking for is too much,” Kattan said to the crowd. “You deserve to have jobs that not only allow you to cover your bills, but also allow you to thrive and save for the future. You need to show everyone what is possible.”
Before picketing continued, the New York City Central Labor Council set up “Scabby the Rat” — a giant inflatable rat that union members said represented scabs, or people who cross a picket line. While NYU has repeatedly told students that classes are continuing, the union is encouraging students to not attend lessons regularly taught by contract faculty.
Pickets outside Bobst Library and the Skirball Center for Performing Arts dispersed around 11 a.m., as demonstrators joined the group outside of Paulson.
NYU’s contract faculty union kicked off its second day of striking as around 200 members and supporters began picketing outside the Paulson Center at 9 a.m. — set to continue until 4 p.m., unless its bargaining committee reaches an agreement with the university.
At the same time, around a dozen faculty members formed two picket circles behind Bobst Library and the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts after the Teamsters — a union for drivers including Amazon and UPS — agreed to halt deliveries to NYU buildings where picketing occurs.
“The people who deliver to this building are union members of the Teamsters Level 108 and they will not cross picket lines,” contract faculty member John Waters told WSN. “We are picketing at the active side of the NYU administration buildings where they work and as a consequence we are hoping that our brothers in the union movement will not cross the picket line.”
The union left a 27-hour bargaining session yesterday afternoon with new agreements on job security, retirement benefits and six other topics — but the two parties are still deliberating key issues including compensation, research funding and shared governance. Contract Faculty United, which represents around 950 full-time faculty at NYU, said it proposed a contract at around 2 p.m., which NYU’s lawyers reviewed that evening, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The union set up a Linktree that aims to raise $35,000 to support contract faculty for the duration of the strike. According to the webpage, the money will supplement the $500 per week that members receive from the United Auto Workers Strike Assistance Program. This program ensures that picketing participants have access to UAW health insurance and continued payment during the strike.
CFU began striking at 11 a.m. Monday after more than a year of negotiations with administrators. NYU called the move “fundamentally unnecessary” and claimed the union had not explored all options.
“We want a fair contract right now — we don’t want to be on strike,” Waters said. “We want to be in the classroom with our students, many of whom are out on the line with us.”
Contact Natalie Deoragh, Krish Dev and Dharma Niles at [email protected].