Members of NYU labor unions, including contract faculty and researchers, reinforced their demands for recognition at a Labor Day parade Saturday morning, just a few blocks away from Bryant Park.
NYU Contract Faculty United, the union representing contract faculty on campus, and NYU Researchers United, the union representing postdoctoral fellows and research assistants, joined thousands of workers from unions across the city at the event. The two groups, which are both affiliated with the United Auto Workers, chanted “New York is a union town” as they marched with signs donning the same slogan.
“We stand together against the very few people who seem to have a lot of power, but really the power is here when we all march together,” said Aaron Posner, a UAW staff organizer and former NYU student.
The university’s contract faculty union protested outside Bobst Library several times this past year, calling on the administration to recognize its unionization efforts and enter into a collective bargaining agreement. The group is hoping for better results in negotiations after the recent appointment of NYU president Linda Mills.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing what kind of leadership Linda Mills wants to bring to NYU,” said CAS professor and contract faculty union organizer Elisabeth Fay. “A really wonderful way to begin her tenure as NYU’s president would be to respect the collective bargaining rights of contract faculty and researchers and to recognize our unions.”
Unlike the adjunct faculty and graduate student unions at NYU, the contract faculty and researchers unions have not yet been officially recognized by the university administration. Contract faculty, who are untenured and work full-time, are professors who renew their contracts with the university every few years. The union representing contract faculty, who make up nearly a fourth of all professors at NYU, is made up of around 1,000 faculty members.
The university’s researchers union is newer to campus. In 2020, NYU Researchers United, along with NYU’s graduate student worker union, wrote a letter to the university urging for more precautions for employees in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. A year later, the union held its first meeting and has continued to fight for worker benefits and protections for researchers. The researchers union has also yet to be recognized by the university.
Contact Shiphrah Moses at [email protected].
