As of 8 a.m. this morning, SENS-UAW Local 7902 has called for a strike against The New School. Union members have begun honoring digital picket lines against the university, while physical picketing outside campus buildings is expected to begin at 12 p.m. today.
Officially, the strike is in response to the open Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) claims the union has filed against the university, alleging bad faith bargaining, direct dealing, and making unilateral contract changes.
SENS-UAW represents academic student workers, including tutors, Teaching Assistants and Fellows, Research Associates and Assistants, and Course Assistants. Workers striking in these roles will pause teaching classes and cease all other work-related duties until the strike is called off.
Progress was made in last night’s bargaining session on issues regarding legal aid for International student workers and a childcare fund, among others. “While the union is pleased by this movement, it is not enough to prevent our strike,” said SENS-UAW in a university-wide message this morning.
At 5:34 a.m., Human Resources Vice President Sonya Williams issued a statement stating that the administration doesn’t believe the strike is necessary due to the progress made in recent negotiations.
“The university worked very hard to avoid this outcome, and we will continue to do everything we can to reach agreement with SENS-UAW and to minimize disruption to our community, academic mission, and operations,” the update said.
The message also noted that the university has plans to minimize disruptions for students and will share more information later today as it becomes necessary.
At a union event on Monday, SENS representative Josephine D. Baker said, “We’re going on strike because we’re tired of this, we’re going on strike because we deserve more.” Baker went on to say that the university runs on student worker power and that a strike will show how important academic student workers are to the school.
“What we are asking for is just a drop, it is such a small percentage of their budget,” said Local 7902 President, Zoe Carey. “We are bringing in a lot of value to the university, and at the same time, our contract does not cost a lot.”
The ULP strike is one of two possible strikes the union can hold, as legally protected by the National Labor Relations Act. This means that if the union ends the ongoing strike, they reserve the right to strike a second time, in what is known as an “economic strike,” which is where employees strike in order to obtain better financial compensation from their employer.
The strike will continue indefinitely until the SENS-UAW Local 7902 decides sufficient progress on tentative agreements has been made in negotiations, after which picketing will stop, and union members will return to work. There is a session scheduled for additional negotiations Thursday.
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