This article was updated on Nov. 29 at 3:28 p.m.
The union representing Student Health Services (SHS) employees at The New School (SHENS) said they will go on strike if they don’t reach an agreement with the university by Dec. 8.
Approximately 25% of students at The New School receive mental and/or physical healthcare from SHS providers annually, according to the university. If the 18 unionized SHS workers strike, students will not have access to regular care from the Student Health Center starting at 8 a.m. on Dec. 8.
In a statement to The New School Free Press, the university said that if this occurs, they “will communicate directly with students about their continued access to care.” The union told the Free Press that administrative SHS staff would remain available to students in the event of a strike and can be reached at shs@newschool.edu. They emphasized that using SHS resources during a strike would not be crossing a picket line.
SHENS has held nine contract bargaining sessions with the university since July 17, a process members have repeatedly described as “extremely frustrating.”
Earlier today, ACT-UAW Local 7902, the local union which the SHENS unit falls under, announced the strike deadline on their Instagram, stating they have been “forced to take last resort measures in order to secure the working conditions they deserve.” According to the same post, they have filed two Unfair Labor Practices with the National Labor Relations Board against the university for “bargaining in bad faith.”
SHENS members voted 17-1 to authorize a strike on Nov. 17. After the university received the strike authorization notice, they entered the Nov. 20 session “willing to really bargain,” said Bill Groth, a SHENS bargaining committee member. “We all felt like, all right, we’re making some progress here,” he said.
However, by the end of the session on Nov. 27, Groth said it was as if that progress had not occurred. “It was clear they were not addressing our proposals or concerns,” he said, which prompted SHENS to give the university the legal 10 day strike notice.
“We are disappointed that the union has taken this action,” the university told the Free Press. In a statement, the school characterized the progress made in recent bargaining sessions as “good,” stating that the university “remains focused on reaching a strong, equitable, and fair contract as quickly as possible.”
Groth described the university’s current offer as “poor.” He said their proposal does not adequately address issues of low pay and understaffing, which he says results in students experiencing long wait times for appointments and medication refills.
Despite this, he is “hopeful” that an agreement can be reached quickly between the two parties. He said it was for this reason that the union refused the university’s offer of a federal mediator, fearing it would draw out the process.
The next bargaining session is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. on Nov. 29.