This article was updated on Oct. 14 at 12:20 p.m.

The New Student Workers Union (NewSWU) and community members met in front of the University Center on Tuesday, Oct. 8 to call attention to the unfair treatment of the non-academic student workers at The New School. 

20 to 25 TNS students and organizers gathered around a table and inflatable rat, listening to union members deliver speeches about struggling with late paychecks, limited access to facilities, and the administration’s lack of response to alleviate these issues. 

“I spend countless hours in [the Making Center] helping students do their projects, [helping them] do their homework,” a member of NewSWU who currently works in the Making Center said. “I’m fixing printers, I’m fixing student issues, I’m tutoring them in Adobe, I’m teaching them how to book bind, I’m working with a bunch of tools, and The New School pays me $15 an hour to do [all] that.” 

University President Joel Towers previously said in his August welcome speech that he would “promptly resolve bargaining” with NewSWU and SENS-UAW, the union for academic student workers. The movement to resolve bargaining has been delayed, according to Jack Condie, a PhD philosophy student at The New School for Social Research and the current recording secretary for ACT-UAW Local 7902. “The New School keeps saying that they’re ready to make some moves towards voluntary recognition, but the negotiations continue to give us the runaround.” 

NewSWU has yet to be recognized by TNS as an official union. The organization is currently in communication with the university to receive official recognition, which would certify their rights as student workers and begin the process of addressing their demands. 

Last March, TNS and SENS-UAW came to an agreement after the union went on strike from March 6 to 8. The new agreement offered raises, promises of healthcare, fair contracts, and possible tuition waivers. NewSWU, however, was not included in the agreement due to failed recognition from the university, as they are considered non-academic workers. 

The university has offered to recognize NewSWU as a separate union, not as a part of the federal student workers or SENS. The recognition of NewSWU as a separate union from SENS is already a “significant concession,” according to NewSWU. However, recognition from the university will allow students in the union access to the same benefits their fellow academic student workers in SENS are getting. 

“We want the same [fair treatment] for our non-academic student workers,” Condie said.

Students not a part of NewSWU or SENS-UAW also attended the rally, showing support for their peers. Max Ways, a politics major at Lang, said, “At the end of the day, what they do is labor. They give the school their time and their energy outside of normal school hours, so at least have their labor be recognized.”

NewSWU has stated that TNS can voluntarily recognize NewSWU as a separate union or as part of SENS at any time.

A previous version of this article misspelled Jack Condie’s name and stated that he was the Recording Secretary for SENS-UAW. Condie’s correct position is Recording Secretary for ACT-UAW Local 7902.