Q: What is a Strike Authorization Vote?

A: This is a vote to authorize the part-time faculty elected to the bargaining committee to call a strike if they determine that it’s necessary.

Q: If the vote passes, do we automatically go on strike?

A: No. This is simply a vote on whether to give the part-time faculty elected to the bargaining committee the authority to call a strike if they determine that it is necessary to do so.

Q: Does the bargaining committee recommend voting ‘yes’ or ‘no’?

A: The part-time faculty elected to the bargaining committee urge you to vote ‘yes.’

Q: When is the vote?

A: The voting period will run from October 31st through November 13th.

Q: Who gets to vote?

A: All part-time faculty who have signed up for the union and are working in the fall 2022 semester or on paid leave in the fall 2022 semester. If you have not yet signed up for the union but would like to, please get in touch with union rep Doug Morse, at repdoug@actuaw.org.

Q: How will the vote be conducted?

A: The vote will be conducted via online ballot. A ballot will be emailed to you on October 31st. If you do not receive a ballot but are eligible to vote, please email organizer@actuaw.org, and a ballot will be emailed to you right away.

Q: Why is the bargaining committee holding a strike authorization vote?

A: The university has repeatedly stalled negotiations -- first by refusing to meet for over two months, then by failing to respond to the bargaining committee’s proposals. Most recently, the university suggested a quid pro quo: they asked for an indefinite extension of the current contract in exchange for an insultingly small pandemic bonus of $200 for each semester we taught from Spring ’20 to Spring ’22 -- a fraction of the $3,500 bonus issued to full-time faculty. Extending the current contract would result in losing our right to go on strike. We can’t strike until our collective bargaining agreement expires.

The bargaining committee is waiting for the university’s responses to thirty proposals. The committee submitted some of these proposals over three months ago.

The part-time faculty have made every effort short of this step to compel the university’s negotiations team to stop stalling. The bargaining committee has asked to meet more frequently with the university’s team and has submitted proposals to the university at nearly every bargaining session. The university, however, continues to delay. As a result, the bargaining committee has been left with no other recourse but to move forward with a strike authorization vote.

Q: How likely is it that there will be a strike if part-time faculty vote ‘yes’ to authorize one?

A: If The New School’s negotiations team changes course by beginning to bargain with urgency and by making fair compromises, then a strike becomes less likely.

Q: How many people need to vote ‘yes’ in order for the bargaining committee to be authorized to call a strike?

A: If 2/3rds or more part-time faculty members vote ‘yes,’ the bargaining committee will gain the authority to call a strike.

Q: Is the vote anonymous?

A: Yes. No one, not even your union reps, will be able to see how you vote.

Q: Could I face retaliation for participating in the vote?

A: No. First, retaliation is illegal under law and prohibited by our union contract. Second, the vote is anonymous; your supervisor will have no way of knowing whether or not you participate. Third, hundreds of your colleagues will be voting with you. Since we comprise 87% of the entire faculty and teach the vast majority of the courses, we have a lot of strength if we stick together

Q: I’m probationary or post-probationary. Could the school simply not reappoint me?

A: Right now, the school can choose not to reappointment you for any reason. The university doesn’t even have to tell you why. Our negotiating committee is fighting to change this, to provide part-time faculty with job security sooner. That is why it is so important that you vote. The more faculty that vote, the better the chance we stand of winning stronger job security for all part-time faculty. And as mentioned above, retaliation is illegal under law and prohibited by our union contract.

Q: I haven’t signed up for the Union. How do I sign up so that I can vote?

A: Email union rep Doug Morse at repdoug@actuaw.org.

Q: Should I wait to accept my spring assignments until after this is over?

A: You should accept your spring assignment letters right away! In the event that the bargaining committee negotiates a raise for the spring semester, you will receive that raise regardless of when you accept your spring assignment.

Q: I’m currently on an F-1 Visa, OPT Visa Extension, STEM OPT Extension, or other similar such visa or visa extension. Could I face visa consequences for participating in the strike authorization vote or strike?

A: In 2018 student-workers at The New School voted to and went on strike. A majority of them were on F-1 visas. No one faced any visa consequences. This is because you have the same right as every U.S. citizen does to participate in the vote and, if necessary, a strike. This right is protected by the Wilberforce Act, a federal law passed in 2008.