Preparing for a Strike by SENS-UAW Local 7902, Academic Student Workers
A Message from Sonya Williams, Vice President for Human Resources
Bargaining on Tuesday with SENS-UAW Local 7902 continued into early Wednesday morning, and the university and union have agreed to resume bargaining on Thursday, March 7th. Given the recent progress and productive dialogue at the table, the university again asked the union to put off the strike and agree to bring in a neutral mediator. The union declined these requests and instead indicated they will strike beginning at 8:00am today.
The university worked very hard to avoid this outcome, and we will continue to do everything we can to reach agreement with SENS-UAW and to minimize disruption to our community, academic mission, and operations. Here’s what you need to know about our plans:
Our responsibility
As an institution of higher education, our priority is to ensure the continuity of teaching and learning for our students. This semester, there are approximately 550 Academic Student Workers at The New School—including teaching assistants, teaching fellows, research associates, research assistants, course assistants, and tutors—who make important contributions, but the overall responsibility for delivering courses remains with our approximately 2000 full- and part-time faculty.
Teaching, learning, and work will continue
The university is required by our accreditor, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, and the Department of Education to demonstrate academic continuity. We are committed to keeping students at the center of our decision-making and minimizing disruption to their learning. All university activities will continue as normal, and the university will provide additional details for how learning will continue. Students can expect to receive information from the Provost’s Office and their Dean’s office with further details on college- and course-specific plans. The university will also communicate directly with SENS bargaining unit members, as well as our other employees, with further details on what to expect.
Our continued willingness to reach an agreement
During sessions this week, the university and union moved closer to agreement on the full range of non-economic and economic issues. We will return to the table tomorrow to continue our discussions.
More information
We understand you may have questions and have updated our website FAQs. We are committed to keeping you informed on progress with the union and will share updates on our Union Negotiations page. You can also stay updated by signing up for email updates here and by following @KnowNewSchool on X (formerly known as Twitter) and @KnowOurNewSchool on Instagram.