Quick Explainer: Why is Cops Off Campus a Workplace Health & Safety Concern?

What are the health and safety risks associated with cops?

-Grad workers have given many testimonials about being harassed by police while on campus.

-Currently, NYPD can enter campus buildings without a warrant. NYPD in and around NYU buildings are regularly spotted without wearing masks or proper PPE and have responded aggressively when asked to put one on.

-NYPD’s record of racial violence, surveillance, targeted policing, and imprisonment practices have no place in an academic setting, and only puts our most vulnerable graduate workers at risk, especially Black and Brown workers.

What are we asking for in our new contract? 

-We’re asking NYU to protect workers from the physical, mental, and emotional harm that police contact causes by keeping law enforcement out of campus buildings without a warrant.

-Further, NYU should stop contracting with NYPD for events such as graduation and move-in day. 

How has NYU responded to our health and safety demands? 

NYU has so far refused to bargain with us on our health and safety demands, even though health and safety provisions are mandatory subjects of bargaining. We’re not surprised; NYU has robust monetary and political investments in policing and prisons. But we cannot allow NYU to continue to put its most vulnerable workers at increased risk, especially at a moment when, during a global pandemic and economic downturn, police refuse to wear masks and routinely harass our workers. 

VOTE YES NOW! If you worked a unit bargaining position in 2020 or are working this semester (includes J-term 2021) you are eligible to vote in the strike vote and should have received a ballot. The email was from “Local 2110” and would have been sent to your NYU email (search “Local 2110” in your inbox). Eligible to vote but never got an email? Reach out to gsoc@2110uaw.org. And check out our strike hub for more info!