A spokesperson for NYU said the school has made multiple offers that would put union members in an advantageous position.
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Around 1,000 full-time non-tenure-track faculty at NYU are prepared to go on strike Monday if contract negotiations with management continue to stall this weekend.
New York University (NYU) faculty and supporters are prepared and ready to picket starting March 23 at 9 a.m., outside the school’s John A. Paulson Building in Greenwich Village if a fair contract is not settled before that time.
Contract Faculty United – UAW (CFU-UAW), the union representing the educators, said members’ demands are over compensation, job security, academic freedom, AI and workload.
Elisabeth Fay, a member of the bargaining committee, said the administration is refusing to discuss salary compression, a term used when there is little difference in pay between employees with different skill sets or levels of experience.
Workload, job security, and housing and retiree medical benefits are among other sticking points in the negotiations.
NYU administration said on Friday that the school presented the union with a “comprehensive contract proposal,” offering significant raises and giving them the “highest minimum salaries” of any unionized contract faculty in the nation.
“As of today, the union has in its hands a comprehensive package from the university that would improve the lives of every one of its members. It includes average raises of $10,000 this year alone, guaranteed raises for the next five years, and the highest minimum salaries of any unionized contract faculty in the country,” Wiley Norvell, chief communications officer at NYU, said. “Why would the union choose to disrupt thousands of students’ education when they have a market-leading offer, and despite the university pressing to resolve this contract through an independent mediator for the past five months?”
A strike would impact the school’s total enrollment, which was over 60,000 as of fall 2025; this includes 29,471 undergraduates; 27,804 graduate and professional school students; and 3,250 people enrolled in noncredit programs.
“We cannot lose sight of our responsibility to our students, no matter what happens,” Norvell said. “They are our top priority and we are prepared to continue their academic progress if the union goes on strike.”
Electeds want professors to get a “strong contract they deserve”
In the meantime, the professors have strong support from both the in-school and outside-school community. More than 60 elected officials urged the administration in a letter on March 20 to settle with the union.
Among the politicians who signed the letter are Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, NYC Council Members Chris Marte, Virginia Maloney and Harvey Epstein (Manhattan), and other state and city elected officials in and around NYU’s Lower Manhattan location.
“We call on you to do everything in your power to return to the bargaining table and ensure a strike is averted and these workers receive the strong contract they deserve,” part of the letter stated.
Nearly 1,500 students and advocates also said they will support the faculty should a strike occur.
“Contract faculty are half of NYU’s full-time professors. Like tenured and tenure-track faculty, contract faculty hold a wide range of teaching, research, and administrative roles,” the students said in a collective statement on March 19, urging NYU president Linda Mills and provost Georgina Dopico to come to an agreement with the professors as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, NYU administrators said they have a contingency plan in place which includes substitute professors should a strike occur on Monday.