A spokesperson for NYU said the school has made multiple offers that would put union members in an advantageous position.
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NYU professors who went on strike last month formally announced on Wednesday that, after years of negotiating, they have finally reached their first union contract with the school’s administration.
The contract for the nearly 1,000 professors, all of whom are members of Contract Faculty United – UAW (CFU-UAW), includes protections for academic freedom and job security, new benefits including a $200,000-per-year fund for immigration expenses and an optional retirement buyout, and “best-in-the-nation” pay, including an average raise of 20%.
The contract also gives full-time, non-tenure-track faculty the right to grieve violations of their academic freedom to a neutral third-party arbitrator, the CFU-UAW said in a statement.
Union members voted 756 to 13 — a 98% yes vote, with a turnout of 81% — to ratify the contract, which was tentatively agreed to after hundreds of full-time non-tenure-track educators went on a 39-hour strike that started on March 23.
“By winning job security and strengthening academic freedom, we have strengthened the university and its mission,” Heidi White, a professor in NYU’s Liberal Studies program and an elected member of the bargaining committee, said. “And by winning raises and protecting and improving our benefits, we won compensation that now reflects our service to the university community.”
The full-time faculty unionized in February 2024. Two years later, the union voted 90% in favor of a walkout on Feb. 23, 2026, after contract negotiations with school leadership reached a stalemate. Union members at the school went on strike for less than two days in March before reaching a tentative agreement with school administrators, which was ratified on April 8.
A ‘fair and sustainable’ agreement
Both NYU leaders and CFU-UAW described the contract as “strong.”
NYU spokesperson Joe Tirella said the administration looks forward to working with the faculty under the contract.
“We look forward to working together with our unionized contract faculty to implement their first contract,” he said. “This is a fair and sustainable agreement that recognizes the vital contributions these faculty members make to the life of our university.”
The union said in its statement that the contract will expire on Aug. 31, 2030.