With student academic workers prepared to strike Wednesday, SENS-UAW, held “Strike School” on Monday to prepare New School students, faculty, and staff for a potential strike if a new contract is not reached. 

The union held Strike School at 12 p.m. in the Eugene Lang courtyard as a meeting to teach TNS students, faculty, and staff about what they are fighting for. “All the info you need about both the SENS and NewSWU strikes,” read a description of the event on their Instagram post. The meeting concluded with a practice picket where the group was led to a building where New School administrative offices are housed. 

Roughly 30 students, faculty, and union members marched from the Eugene Lang courtyard towards 79 5th Ave., the building where the SENS-UAW negotiations are being held. Using a practice strike as a way to send off the UAW committee board, the group began to chant, “Student worker power, student worker power,” with the sound of drums beating to the rhythm of their demands. 

During Strike School, a bargaining committee member, Giuseppe Vicinanza spoke on the importance of unity within the union, alleging that TNS has been attempting to divide negotiations based on student worker jobs. “The university is going to start to make some movement, it often does show you quite nasty ways. So first thing that they did is try to divide us,” he said.

Vicinanza said that TNS is trying to divide the student workers by offering Ph.D. students and Master’s students different perks due to some positions being deemed more “important” than others. 

Another bargaining committee member, Lenny Black voiced the union’s objective in bargaining with TNS. “We are students at The New School, we are workers, we’re your friends, we’re people,” he said. 

Strike School attracted students and faculty, including Cam Weinrebe, a second-year psychology student. 

“The way [student workers] are being treated is just like disgusting, and we know that the school has the resources to treat them better, and they don’t,” Weinrebe said.

SENS-UAW provided art material and signs to decorate for the potential strike on Wednesday. Chalk was also given out for people to write and draw on the floor and walls of the courtyard.

“What’s great about Strike School is that they walk you through everything and talk to you about how important it is,” Weinrebe said. 

Many people who spoke during the event promoted other meetings they were holding during the week, such as the SENS membership meeting the union is hosting on Tuesday. 

At around 12:45 p.m., the leaders of the Strike School guided the group from the Lang courtyard up 5th Ave., roughly three blocks as a way to practice what the real strike would be like.  

When walking over, the group was tailed by Scott Belford, the Director of Emergency Operations, and Michael Biondo, the Director of Security Operations. The two received many stares as they sat roughly 50 feet from the Strike School participants, never directly interacting with the large group.  

Both Belford and Biondo declined to comment to the Free Press on the nature of their presence during the Strike School and the practice picket.

The original version of this story incorrectly referred to two security staff members,  Scott Belford, the Director of Emergency Operations, and Michael Biondo, the Director of Security Operations. The correct two staff members were the Vice President of Buildings and Campus Operations, Thomas Whalen, and the Senior Director for Campus Safety and Emergency, Thomas Iliceto. The original version also misattributed a quote from Lenny Black to Emmanuel Auerbach-Baidani. The article has been updated to reflect the corrections.