Latest Bargaining and Campaign Update
GSOC held a successful rally and press conference Wednesday about working conditions at NYU-Poly, followed by a bargaining session with the university administration at the Poly campus.
Thanks to all the members who came out to support these events!
Escalating our Public Presence!
Despite the poor weather, we had a great turnout for the press event focusing on issues at NYU-Poly, with fantastic coverage from WNYC radio. Speakers included: workers from Poly, Tisch, and the Fast Food Workers campaign; UAW elected leadership; NYC Public Advocate Letitia James; Chair of the NY State Assembly Higher Education Committee Deborah Glick; and City Councilman Steve Levin. All spoke out about the low wages and lack of benefits for graduate employees at Poly and urged the administration to address the major disparity in working conditions between the various schools by respecting our demand for a fair contract now. The event echoed a growing awareness of how working conditions at Poly reflect NYU’s tendency to push “innovation” on the backs of low-wage workers, which was the subject of an opinion piece in the Nation by two GSOC/UAW members this week.
Check out our Facebook post on yesterday’s press event!
Bargaining Update: NYU defies members by refusing to make a counter proposal
Wednesday’s bargaining session made it clear to all present that we need to continue to escalate. At the table, the administration failed to make a counter proposal, even though we made significant modifications to our initial demands at the prior bargaining session. Despite the great membership turnout and compelling testimonials about low wages at Poly and the lack of family healthcare, the university refused to move at all, insisting instead that we drop certain proposals altogether. This amounts to bargaining against ourselves. While we are committed to working in good faith to reach fair compromises, we refuse to drop entire issues that we know to be critical to the working lives of GSOC members. It is unacceptable for NYU to refuse to make a counter-proposal, especially with more than 30 of our members present. NYU’s continued reluctance to make a fair counter proposal makes clear we have no choice but to continue our escalation.
If you are interested in joining the conversation about how to continue and escalate our mobilization efforts, join us next week at the Mobilization Committee meeting which will take place at Poly next week (time and location TBD). If you would like to participate, send us an email.
Save the date! Our next bargaining sessions will be 11/3 and 11/11. More details to follow!
