Bargaining Update & Strike Fund Registration
 Dear members, TL;DR: The strike is working! By applying pressure on the university, we have made significant wins on a number of demands regarding vacation and parental leave, although NYU continues to be intransigent on a range of important issues.Read below for more In order to receive strike benefits, you must come in person to register if you’re in NYC, or register on Zoom if you’re not. See below for the currently scheduled times and locations for registration. What will I need in order to register? Please bring a photo ID, and your social security number. All striking workers will be required to do this to receive strike benefits, even if you have previously filled out the GSOC UAW Strike Fund Request Form Eligibility for strike benefits: you must have a current bargaining unit appointment you anticipate that you will not be paid by NYU for the weeks you are striking you must be actively striking that appointment (withholding your labor) and participating in some form of strike duty (attending the picket line in-person or virtually) In-person: When: 10 am-3pm ET Where: Judson Memorial Church, Assembly Hall239 Thompson St. New York, NY 10012 Door code 4400* (* included) Make sure to wear a face mask and keep 6 ft social distancing in the building. Remote Registration When: 10am-6pm ET https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81282628296?pwd=RXZJNmVyYWl5RUxXNHV6UmhrWG1PZz09 Meeting ID: 812 8262 8296 Passcode: 791700 Todd Austin, our appointed mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), relayed a series of counter proposals from NYU in response to the narrower set of proposals we offered on Thursday. This marked the most significant movement NYU has made in months. Healthcare: In response to our demand for an increased Graduate Employee Health Insurance Support Fund (to be used to offset out-of-pocket), NYU countered with a $50k increase, amounting to $250k in the first year, increasing to $375k by Academic Year 2025-26. NYU stipulated that this fund could be used for StuDent Plan expenses and premiums. This is still far short of the $1 million that we estimated would cover the median out-of-pocket costs for our membership. Childcare and Family: While not approaching our demand of $9k per child under six, NYU agreed to double the amount of money in a child care fund from $100k to $200k. This would increase incrementally to $325k by 2026. NYU offered to “explore” the addition of infertility treatment to the student health plan in exchange for removing this from our list of demands. Leave/Vacation: NYU agreed to the addition of 3 paid personal days for religious observance and for visa/immigration proceedings. NYU also agreed to offer six weeks of paid parental leave for grad employees who have held a union position for at least one semester. Health & Safety: NYU agreed to convene a health and safety committee within 6 months of ratification of the contract to discuss matters of health and safety in the workplace, including the presence of NYPD on NYU’s campus. The committee would meet at least three times on the subject.The fact that we received so many counter proposals after months of silence is a clear indicator that the pressure of the strike is working! Check the Strike Hub to see how to get involved and to keep the pressure on NYU. At the same time, NYU made no movement on a number of issues. Most notably, there was no counterproposal on compensation, though we’ve stressed that this is an urgent priority for our membership. NYU continued to stonewall on international and immigrant worker protections, offering participation in NYU’s group legal plan for immigration issues but declining to offer anything in tax assistance or protection from ICE. After extensive deliberation, GSOC’s bargaining committee (BC) agreed to accept NYU’s terms for Leave and Vacation and its previous proposal for Bargaining Unit Lists. The BC proposed alternative numbers for the childcare fund, asking NYU to increase it to $500k by 2024 and drop the age cap of 6 years. The BC offered to accept NYU’s numbers on the dependent premium fund, so long as it covers 90% rather than 75% of premiums. For international and immigrant student issues, the BC agreed to drop our demands for SEVIS fee reimbursements and for guarantor services. In exchange, they asked that NYU offer a discount for members who use NYU’s legal plan and create a fund for tax and legal services. The BC expects that by streamlining our demands we can make progress in areas that the rank and file indicated are its highest priorities, in particular compensation. Our next bargaining session is today, May 3rd at 1pm EDT. Download the RingCentral App (it’s similar to Zoom!) and click this RSVP link below to join. We are inspired and emboldened when rank and file members participate in the bargaining sessions and on the picket lines. Keep it up! RSVP to today’s bargaining session at 1 PM |
| In person RSVP Virtual picket here |