a gathering of people outside holding signs

A union rally.

Contract Faculty United – UAW

Nearly 1,000 full-time non-tenure-track faculty at NYU went on strike Monday after a weekend of contract talks faltered and ended with no agreements in sight. 

New York University (NYU) faculty began picketing outside the school’s John A. Paulson Building, at 181 Mercer St., on March 23. Contract Faculty United – UAW (CFU-UAW), the union representing the faculty, had pushed back its strike deadline from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. to give administrators more time to consider their demands, which are related to compensation, job security, academic freedom, AI and workload. 

But the effort to delay the walkout proved futile.

“We’ve been negotiating all night, and in some cases we are coming closer, including appointment and reappointment, promotion, grievance and arbitration, performance evaluations,” the union’s bargaining committee said in a statement. “Unfortunately, we are still far from the administration in other areas.”

One of those areas is compensation. Contract professors make up around half of NYU’s full-time faculty. However, they said they earn, on average, 36% less than their tenured colleagues. 

“Contract faculty salaries lag far behind our tenured colleagues,” the union noted on its website. “Contract faculty need a fairer compensation structure that addresses salary compression, corrects inequities, and ensures that our pay reflects the cost of living in New York City.” 

NYU management said it 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.

Wiley Norvell, chief communications officer at NYU, called the strike “fundamentally unnecessary,” adding that the union should have pursued “every option at the negotiating table” before walking off the job.

“For five months, we have urged the union to join us in resolving this contract through an independent mediator. The union has refused. They chose to strike even after the university remained at the bargaining table through the weekend and overnight,” he said. “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.”

Classes continue 

Meanwhile, classes for the school’s 60,000-plus students continued without interruption on Monday. NYU management said it has been preparing for the possibility of a strike by taking precautions such as positioning current faculty and substitutes to teach classes. 

“We are committed to maintaining our students’ academic progress during this strike,” Norvell said. “Substitute instructors and/or alternative plans are in place for every section affected.”

Support for NYU professors

Meanwhile, dozens of New York elected officials urged the administration to reach a settlement with the union. Among politicians supporting the professors are Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal and NYC Council Members Christopher Marte, Virginia Maloney and Harvey Epstein, all of whom represent districts in Manhattan. 

The union voted 90% in favor of authorizing their elected bargaining committee to call a strike if necessary last month. Voting was open between Feb. 9 and Feb. 20; 694 ballots were cast, with 657 voting in favor of a strike. This is the first contract the professors would have since they unionized in February 2024. 

It is unclear when the union and management will meet again at the bargaining table, which will help determine how soon the strike will end.Â