Update On Latest Bargaining Session with SENS-UAW Local 7902, Academic Student Workers
A Message from Sonya Williams, Vice President for Human Resources
The university bargaining team met once again on Friday, November 10 with SENS-UAW Local 7902, the union representing our Academic Student Workers, to continue dialogue towards a renewed agreement.
This was the first bargaining session held under the recently established ground rules, which allowed members of our community to observe the discussions. We thank those who joined us for demonstrating their interest in labor relations on campus, and for contributing to a fair, open and productive bargaining environment.
The union put forward memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on two items: Union Leave and Anti-Bullying. The university welcomed the opportunity to learn more about the union’s position on these issues, and we asked their bargaining team to formalize these MOUs into written proposals that clearly reflect the union’s position. Coming out of this session, the university is still waiting for the union’s formal written responses to fifteen other non-economic proposals including non-discrimination (also referred to as Title IX).
The university presented the three non-economic proposals for which it owed a response to the union: Discipline & Discharge, Union Meeting Space and Academic Student Workers’ Rights & Responsibilities. The university reiterated that it is committed to listening to the union and finding solutions that address their concerns.
- On the issue of Discipline & Discharge, for example, the university presented new language committing to expediting certain grievances involving international students, addressing one of the union’s key concerns.
- ‌In response to the union’s request that Academic Student Workers are granted the right to unilaterally change the modality of teaching (that is, in-person or online), the university reiterated its commitment to ensuring that no employee or student is asked to put themselves at risk in circumstances like major snowstorms. Instead, in the event the university has not already issued guidance, we ask our Academic Student Workers to work with their supervisors concerning potential changes in course modality—which is the current policy for all employee groups at The New School.
- ‌In Meeting Space, the university has committed to allowing the union to book space for its needs consistent with the booking capabilities of other student groups on campus, in addition to preserving the union’s ability to book university space three times per year to hold union meetings on campus.
We are eager to meet with the union again soon so we can make real progress towards an agreement that benefits everyone. We remain available to meet anytime and asked for the union’s available dates in 2024 and timeblocks longer than two hours to meet. We look forward to continuing the dialogue at our next session on December 1.
Links to observe bargaining sessions will be posted on our Union Negotiations page prior to each session. You can stay updated by signing up for email updates here and by following @KnowOurNewSchool on Instagram and Twitter/X.