After a month-long strike, new students return to class

With a tentative five-year contract with ACT-UAW Local 7902, the new school has resumed in individual classes but now students have some grievances.

The union representing part-time teachers has ended its month-long strike - the most long among adjunct professors in the United States. - during the weekend. Union leaders are expected to recommend the new deal, which protects health care benefits and ensures part-time faculty are paid for extra work done outside of the classroom.

There are approximately 2,600 New School employees represented by the union and 1,789 of them are part-time professors who teach fall semester courses. Parsons has 932 part-time teachers, but school officials do not break down the number of teachers by school. Minimum hourly rates for adjunct professors range from $71.31 to $127.85, depending on the course taught.

A New School representative was unavailable Monday to discuss the situation, a doorman said -word of the school.

Speaking on behalf of the union, Tiffany Webber, a part-time assistant professor for 18 years, said: “This is absolutely the strongest contract we have had in my years there. There are so many more protections on so many levels for those of us who teach. It's inherently built in more dignity and respect for the role."

University recognition of administrative preparation time - work done outside the classroom compared to time spent in class - was a major plus, Webber said. Keeping health care comparable, giving the lowest-paid part-time faculty the highest raises, providing greater job security, paid family leave, and "a great tuition benefit" are just a few. each other's benefits, she added.

Admitting that some things weren't up to snuff, especially around pay below average top-up rates, she said structural changes were made to “prepare us for collective bargaining in the future.” Webber also believes there needs to be more recourse against harassment and discrimination beyond the school's Title IX office.

With the draft contract under review, a vote should take place in the coming days and will come into effect at the beginning of the following semester. A tentative agreement has been signed between the university and the president of the union.

Monday was the first day adjunct teachers returned to their classrooms in a month. Needless to say, “They now have their own grievances because their education has been interrupted. Of course, there are so many students with so many perspectives on what happened. All would probably agree that it was so difficult to have this disruption,” Webber said.

Many of the affected students started their studies at the new school shortly before the lockdown began pandemic. Some are graduating this month. While many of his students were “so shocked” to find out about the conditions under which adjunct professors worked, they understood why the strike was a last resort. "I don't think any of us thought this would go down in history as the longest running auxiliary strike in the United States," she said.

As this week is the last week of the semester, some are offering make-up days and all programs are trying to figure out the best way to help students wrap up the semester "so they don't worry about their grades," Webber said. This is especially true for future graduates and those worried about their visa status or financial aid, she said.

A student-run organization, Student Faculty Solidarity, demands that all students receive Ace due to last month's hiatus. Final grades are due in early January. Representatives of SFS had joined the picket line daily and periodically occupied the university center. Media requests to the SFS were not acknowledged on Monday.