NEW YORK, N.Y. – April 7, 2015 – The United Auto Workers announced today the ratification of the contract with New York University which covers over 1200 graduate employees, members of the Graduate Student Organizing Committee-UAW Local 2110, who perform various functions for the university including teaching and research.  Once again, this  makes NYU the only private university in the country with a unionized graduate employee workforce.  The agreement was ratified by 99% of the membership, with nearly 1,000 members voting.

“This contract is a major step forward for our members,” said Julie Kushner, Director of UAW Region 9A.  “They did not back down after being stripped of their bargaining rights in 2005.Their commitment to justice will have a huge impact on  the working lives of teaching and research assistants throughout the university. This victory has already inspired other private sector graduate employees to organize.”

The agreement made substantial gains in wages, health care, including a 90% subsidy towards individual coverage and first time support for dependent coverage, childcare benefits and tuition waivers.  In addition, it doubles the starting wage to $20 per hour over the life of the five-year agreement for workers at NYU’s Polytechnic School of Engineering, who perform and support cutting edge research. (Greater detail is appended below.)

“This contract will make a real difference in our lives here at NYU, and will raise the bar for private sector graduate working people nationally,” said Lily Defriend, a Ph.D candidate in the Anthropology Department. “Right here in New York City our campaign and this contract win have contributed to graduate employees at Columbia and The New School organizing at the UAW.”

After being the first group of private university graduate workers to successfully unionize in 2000, the UAW won a groundbreaking contract at NYU.  In 2005 the university withdrew recognition, hiding behind a Bush-era NLRB decision stripping graduate employees of the right to collective bargaining.  Undeterred, the workers at NYU fought an eight year battle for recognition and the university agreed to recognize the UAW once again subject to an election, in which they remained neutral, conducted by the American Arbitration Association.  The workers voted 98.4% in favor of being represented by the UAW in December 2013.

The UAW represents more than 45,000 academic workers across the U.S., including graduate employees at the University of Massachusetts, University of Connecticut, University of Washington, University of California and California State University.

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Graduate Student Organizing Committee – UAW Local 2110 (GSOC-UAW Local 2110)

Contract Highlights

• NYU graduate employees first private university to win a union contract – again.  Over 1200 teaching, research and graduate assistants at New York University (NYU) (for the second time) become the only unionized group of workers in these classifications at a private university in the United States.
• 2014-2015 fully funded teaching assistants will receive 4% more in total compensation.  A fully funded Ph.D. candidate who teaches in both semesters will now receive approximately $36,600 in compensation this year.
• NYU-Poly workers will receive double digit bonuses.  Hourly workers at the NYU-Polytechnic School of Engineering will receive a $750 bonus per academic year, totaling $1500, for work performed in the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 academic years.  This represents 11.3 of annual earnings.
• NYU-Poly workers achieve win in the Fight for $15.  Minimum pay rate for hourly workers at NYU-Poly will go up 50% to $15 from the current $10/hour in September.  (Based on the average hourly rate of $11.83/hour this is an increase of 27 %.)
• Minimum pay rate at NYU-Poly doubles.  Overall minimum hourly pay rates NYU-Poly doubles over the life of the agreement from the current $10/hour to $20/hour.
• Guaranteed annual minimum increases on total compensation.  The tentative agreement establishes guaranteed minimum increases on total compensation, thus protecting and insuring increases in stipends and teaching pay.  Total compensation is guaranteed to go up at least, 2015-2016: 2.5%, 2016-2017: 2.25%, 2017-2018: 2.5%, 2018-2019: 2.25%, and 2019-2020: 2.5%
• Over 50% of the workers win university provided medical. The university will pay 90% of premiums for individual coverage for those not otherwise receiving fully funded healthcare starting 2015-2016.  Workers save up to $1885 per year based on current year’s premiums.
• Landmark family healthcare benefit created.  Family healthcare fund established commencing 2015-2016 academic year, fund will rise to $200,000 by the third year of the contract.  Applicants eligible for up to 75% subsidy towards cost of NYU family healthcare premiums.
• Breakthrough childcare fund achieved.  Tax-free childcare fund effective January 1, 2016 which will increase each year during the life of the agreement to $100,000 per year in the final year.
• New dental benefits established.  University will provide NYU StuDent for all workers, a savings of $235 per worker based on current year’s premiums.
• Fee waivers broadened.  Various fees related to being enrolled at the university will be waived for all Ph.D. candidates in the union who work for the university.  A savings in excess of $900 per year per Ph.D. worker.
• Numerous provisions protecting basic rights achieved, including just cause standard for discipline and discharge, grievance and arbitration, formalized regular labor-management meetings, union dues and voluntary political action check-offs, a health and safety committee, use of university space for union meetings, union access to new employee orientations, non-discrimination protections which are grieveable under the contract, and paid release for union staff from the bargaining unit.
• Contract effective upon ratification and expires on August 31, 2020.