My apologies for the mass mailing, but the circumstances at NYU are such that we desperately need you to weigh in on the situation detailed below. I thank you in advance for your contribution, wh/ we don't take lightly as we know how terribly overwhelmed you might be at this time of the year; at this point in history.
many thanks, Christine
PLEASE HELP US HEAD OFF FIASCO AT NYU
Teaching assistants at NYU conducted a union drive in 1999-2000, won an election, and affiliated with the United Auto Workers (in a local that also includes other educational professionals in NYC such as Museum of Modern Art and New York Historical Society employees). The NYU administration fought hard against the union but was ultimately forced to recognize and negotiate with it by the National Labor Relations Board. There followed a 3 year contract that brought the teaching assistants health benefits and a stipend increase. During this time the university ran quite smoothly.
In the summer of 2005, released from the obligation to negotiate by a new Bush-appointed NLRB, the NYU administration un-recognized the union and has been refusing to negotiate with it. Given this extreme provocation, the union had virtually no alternative but to strike.
They began striking on Nov. 9 and several hundred professors have been teaching off-campus so as not to cross the picket line. The administration*really, President John Sexton*steadily refuses to deal with the union. He has ignored a compromise proposal by a former dean. At one point several administrators infiltrated course websites (using the program "Blackboard") so as to be able to determine which faculty and teaching assistants were supporting the strike; this resulted in widespread faculty outrage and the deans quickly withdrew from that effort.
Now President Sexton has again thrown a bombshell: he has threatened that any TAs who do not return to work by Dec. 5 will be deprived of an entire semester's stipend and those who dare to return to a strike in the next semester will lose an entire year's funding.
Such an action would be unprecedented. Graduate student employees have struck at many other universities, including those in the Ivy League and those just as anti-union as the NYU administration, but nowhere have such draconian reprisals ever been taken. Moreover, to date American workers retain a right to strike. While employers may well withhold wages during a strike, punishing strikers for a semester or a year afterward is illegal. The basic disagreement between the students and President Sexton is whether they are workers or not, and his point of view must be reckoned with, but surely faculty cannot stand by in silence while graduate student employees are trampled upon because one disagrees.
If this threatened punishment is allowed to happen it will set a disastrous example for democratic debate at universities throughout the country. It would also cause irreparable harm to the reputation of NYU. We believe it will make it much for difficult for the university to recruit and retain the best faculty and graduate students.
Hundreds of faculty have formed a group, Faculty Democracy, to protest President Sexton's policy and to push for greater administration consultation with faculty on important decisions*a consultation which, if undertaken seriously, might have prevented this whole debacle.
We urge scholars and intellectuals throughout the country to make it known that President Sexton's threats must be dropped and the resolution of this conflict requires civil deliberations with democractically elected GA representatives and the administration. President Sexton can be reached at 70 Washington Square, NY, NY 10012 and by email at john.sexton at nyu.edu
Please send a copy of your communication to any sender of this letter.
Thank you,
Linda Gordon, History
Andrew Ross, American Studies
Alan Sokal, Physics
Mary-Louise Pratt, Spanish
writing for the group Faculty Democracy, numbering approximately 250
-- Professor Christine B. Harrington Department of Politics Founder, Institute for Law & Society and Law & Society Program New York University 726 Broadway, Rm 768 New York, NY 10013 (212) 998-8509 (212) 995-4184 (fax) CB.Harrington at gmail.com www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/politics/faculty/harrington -------------------------------------------------------------- Please Note: Due to Florida's very broad public records law, most written communications to or from College employees regarding College business are public records, available to the public and media upon request. Therefore, this e-mail communication may be subject to public disclosure.