Bargaining Session 1 | June 30, 2022
On Thursday, June 30th at 11:15 AM, the part-time faculty gathered on Zoom for the first bargaining session with administrators from the university. The bargaining committee (BC) was in attendance, led by New School Part-Time Faculty Unit Chair, Annie Lee Larson, and Zoe Carey, our union’s president.
Thanks to the bargaining committee’s policy of open bargaining, the meeting was open to all part-time faculty union members in good standing. In total, just over 60 part-time faculty came out to observe and show support. Register here to attend future sessions.
The administration's bargaining team was led by the university’s new Senior Director for Employee and Labor Relations: Jennifer Penley. The administration’s team also included: Geycel Best, Sonya Williams, Maggie Koozer, and Kate Evanyshin.
Our open bargaining principles dictate that during bargaining sessions only the lead negotiators speak unless other speakers are planned in advance. All union members are welcome to communicate with the lead negotiators via Google Chat during the session. There are breaks in the meeting, known as caucuses, when each side consults with their own members privately. Your union gets to decide the size and scope of our bargaining team, and in order for everyone to be able to attend bargaining sessions, that team includes all of us.
Start of the Session
Jennifer started the meeting by asking the Union why its bargaining team included over 60 part-time faculty. Annie responded that we have a large bargaining team for the sake of transparency and so that all union members can be part of the process. Annie went on to state that we have a large union, around 1600 part-time faculty, and emphasized the importance of having a variety and diversity of representation from across the university at the bargaining table.
Jennifer thanked Annie for her response, then proposed ground rules for all bargaining sessions, which she sent to the Union after the meeting. Annie said that we would not agree to ground rules right now, but will review them with our bargaining team.
Passing Proposals
Next, Annie laid out a framework for our bargaining proposals.
The bargaining committee looks forward to working with the university. Part-time faculty made many sacrifices during the pandemic. The part-time faculty love teaching and believe deeply in the New School’s mission. It’s time for the university to recognize our contribution and pandemic sacrifices.
Annie then presented seven proposals for our new contract. These articles were: a new article on Disability Rights and Access; Article 7: Non-Discrimination; Article 16: Access to Services; Article 6: Bulletin Boards and Posting; Article 2: Bargaining Unit Information, a new article on Meeting Space; and Article 21: Professional Development.
Summaries of the proposals can be found here.
Read the actual text of the proposals here.
Please note: these are only a few of the many proposals that the bargaining committee will be making during this round of contract negotiations. The bargaining committee will make proposals related to pay, healthcare, appointments, and other critical issues at future bargaining sessions.
Jennifer proposed a caucus with her team to discuss the proposals that Annie made. The two sides caucused for about 20 minutes.
When the University and part-time faculty returned to the zoom bargaining room, Jennifer stated that the university had no immediate responses or questions except to say that the article on Professional Development that Annie proposed is an economic one. And the administration is Inclined to table a response to that article until we get to economic proposals.
Annie reaffirmed our intention to get as many proposals to TNS as possible and emphasized the importance of getting another bargaining session on the calendar.
Scheduling Next Meeting
To this end, Zoe offered the university times for our next meeting. Shortly after the bargaining session ended, the university followed up with Zoe, agreeing to meet Friday, July 15th, from 10am - 12pm and August 4th from 3pm - 5pm.
We agreed to meet over zoom for our next session, using the Union’s zoom account to host the session.
You are the union!
As mentioned at the top of this bargaining blog post, the part-time faculty bargaining committee wants YOU at bargaining committee meetings and negotiation sessions. This is YOUR university, YOUR contract, and YOUR union.
If you’re interested in attending negotiation sessions with the university or bargaining committee meetings for part-time faculty to discuss and draft proposal language, you MUST complete this RSVP form below. An organizer will follow up.
Our next bargaining session with the university is Friday, July 15th, 10am - 12pm. To attend, you MUST register by noon on Thursday, July 14th.
The bargaining committee is meeting on Wednesday, July 13th, from 3pm - 6pm to prepare.