Update and Next Meetings

Thanks to everyone who came to the GSOC open membership meetings at NYU and NYU-Poly this week to discuss the status of bargaining and concerns members had about the process. We had a lively discussion. Although there were differences of opinion on specific aspects of bargaining, there was general agreement on moving forward with greater frequency of communication and membership meetings, with an eye toward escalating pressure on NYU to reach agreement on a fair contract.

Bargaining Committee members present at these meetings also reported that the Committee had met the day before by conference call and had agreed to schedule another call for this coming week with a plan to have regular calls and/or meetings thereafter. The Committee currently has no meetings scheduled with NYU and will continue to discuss how best to handle negotiations moving forward.

At this point, we would like to report specifically on two things:

• Bargaining Committee Vacancies: Vacancies will be filled through an election early in the fall semester. We anticipate at least two vacancies at this time, but some committee members are still considering their obligations in the Fall, so we will let you know as soon as we have confirmations.
• Health Care Rebate: We have a made an information request and a demand for a meeting with NYU over the health care debacle. To date, NYU has refused to meet or to provide information we requested and, as reported at the meetings on Wednesday, we are exploring our legal options about how NYU has handled this situation. The Bargaining Committee will also be issuing a public statement objecting to the University’s gross mishandling of this matter and their unwillingness to agree to fair healthcare in our contract so that we get the word out more broadly about these issues [look for the statement on our FB page soon].

In the meantime, click here for an updated comparison of NYU’s response to our economic proposal and a list of the tentative agreements reached with NYU.

Our next meetings to continue brainstorming and planning for the fall will be at the following times:

NYU-Poly: Thursday, July 31, 4:30pm at the private dining room adjacent to the Rogers Hall cafeteria 

NYU Washington Square: Wednesday, August 6, 4pm (location TBA)

If you have questions or want to get more involved, please contact us at gsocuaw@gmail.com.