Tensions that flared earlier this spring appear to have subsided as the part-time faculty union and the university administration say they have come to an agreement on a new contract. On Sunday March 31, The New School administration and The New School part-time faculty union, the ACT-UAW, settled on a re-negotiated contract, according to both the ACT-UAW and New School website. The union’s web page was the sole source of information as neither party could be reached for comment.
The agreement comes after months of negotiations. The previous contracted took effect in 2009, expired August 31, 2014 and was extended until March 31, 2015. An agreement for a new contract was announced on April 1, 2015. The details of the contract are yet to be released, but it can be inferred that job security and healthcare benefits will be one of the more important aspect of it to change.
Both the university and the union expressed positive reactions towards meeting a common ground.
“Our Negotiating Team volunteered their time over many months and countless hours of thoughtful and laborious work in achieving yet another strong contract for the Part-Time Faculty at The New School,” Emily Barnett, President of the ACT-UAW 7902, stated on their website. “Health coverage continues without disruption and the rates of contribution for the remainder of 2015 will remain the same.”
As recently as two weeks ago, it seemed negotiations had stalled. On March 16, the ACT-UAW organized a rally outside the University Center where a number of part-time faculty, students and union members protested the rumored health care cuts and decreased job security that administration were proposing.
At the time, union rep Marie Dormuth spoke about the reason for their backlash, “We’re asking for President Van Zandt to have humanistic values towards academic workers.
All the success of The New School, especially fashion, it’s all about the part-time faculty. They’ve built this school from the ground up.”
“Let’s all unite to build an educational vision for TNS that is humanistic towards its academic workers with consistent quality education and academic excellence for its students,” stated the ACT-UAW website, in preparation for the March 16 rally.
The details of the contract have yet to be released, but once the contract language is finalized, the union will vote and give the contract formal recognition.
“The union will hold a membership meeting to vote on ratification once the final language for the contract is completed,” said Barnett on the ACT-UAW website. “We will release details of the contract at that time and of course hold a Q & A session before voting.”
The date for the membership meeting is yet to be determined but is said to meet “within the next week or two,” according to the ACT-UAW website.
UPDATE: The new contract will run from September 1, 2014 to August 31, 2019.