The union representing part-time faculty at The School of Jazz secured a new contract with a significant pay boost for adjunct professors on May 5, roughly six months after their part-time faculty counterparts at other New School colleges launched a 25-day-long strike for their own fair contract.

Represented by the AFM Local 802 union, the bargaining committee for part-time faculty at The School of Jazz and Contemporary Music voted unanimously to ratify a new, six-year contract with The New School. 

Their new contract includes a 24% increase to the union’s base pay rate, administrative fees for work done outside of the classroom, and a 16% and 20% raise over the life of the contract for those who earn the union’s base rate and those who earn above it, respectively. 

The contract negotiated by The New School’s other part-time faculty, represented by ACT-UAW Local 7902, set precedent for the part-time faculty at The School of Jazz. This means that, where there were similarities between the two contracts, Local 802 was able to ask for and obtain the same improved pay and working conditions that Local 7902 achieved for their part-time faculty members. 

“Our objective was to achieve parity in those areas where there was synchronization between the Local 7902 contract and the Local 802 contract,” said Harvey Mars, the Recording Vice President of AFM Local 802. “The UAW went through a huge, painful strike and achieved some really milestone gains. We didn’t want to be left behind.”

The 130 part-time faculty members teaching at The School of Jazz are the only New School part-time faculty members to be represented by AFM Local 802 instead of ACT-UAW Local 7902. This is because part-time jazz faculty unionized with Local 802 in 1998, seven years before the remainder of the university’s part-time faculty unionized. Therefore, they go through a bargaining process separate from the other colleges’ part-time faculty.

“The strike…and contentious bargaining process [of Local 7902]… provided a great deal of context and background to set up our own negotiations,” said Arun Luthra, a part-time assistant jazz professor and bargaining committee member. He explained that because part-time jazz faculty were working under an expired contract in fall 2022, “we were able to engage in a sympathy strike and strike alongside our union siblings.” 

The two unions were able to build a strong, positive relationship through the strike, which then benefited Local 802 during their negotiation process, Luthra said. “The support that we showed to Local 7902 was reciprocal, [in terms of] support from them in our bargaining…we knew that, if necessary, they were going to have our backs.”

Other important aspects of Local 802’s contract include a $2,100 pandemic bonus for part-time faculty who taught between 2020 and 2022, a new biweekly pay schedule, a $300 live performance rate, enhanced job security and anti-discrimination language, greater access to union information and support, and a $500 ratification bonus for all faculty. 

“Bargaining this contract…was very time intensive. It wasn’t a cakewalk, by any means…to get the same deal the UAW got,” Mars said. But, he added that, “this is one of the few times that most of the [bargaining] objectives were met.” 

Still, Mars said that he would have “liked to have more security with regard to the level of health benefits” for part-time jazz faculty. According to him, part-time jazz faculty can choose between two healthcare plans, one offered by the university and one offered by the union. Mars said he “wished we could have gotten increases in the [university’s] contribution level [to the union plan].”

Luthra also approved of the contract, but expressed a sense of frustration at the time and energy it took to obtain one that included these significant improvements to working conditions, wondering “why The New School can’t just say, you are an incredible faculty and we value you, and we’re going to spend our resources to support you.” He emphasized the importance of remembering and contextualizing how long it took to achieve the gains in the contract and how hard-fought those gains were.  

“Our gains were achieved thanks to the gains made in the Local 7902 contract,” Luthra said. “At the end of the day, we were able to achieve our core demands to a large extent…and, it was easier for us [to do that] because Local 7902 paved the way for us.”