NYU full-time contract faculty preparing to strike if deal isn't reached

A faculty strike could be looming on the campus of New York University.

The union representing full-time contract faculty say they will begin picketing Monday morning if a deal isn't reached.

"For about a year and a half or a little over a year now, we've been in negotiations. So it's been close to 30 bargaining sessions and still very far apart," said architectural history professor Jon Ritter, who has been teaching at NYU for nearly two decades.

Main sticking points include compensation and benefits, housing, job security, and academic freedom.

The union represents more than 900 non-tenure faculty who teach about a quarter of classes.

An NYU spokesperson said in a statement:

"We are continuing to bargain in good faith in the hopes of reaching a fair and sustainable contract. Why would the union choose to disrupt thousands of students' education when they have a market-leading offer in hand–and when the University has been pressing to resolve this contract through an independent mediator for the past five months? The University recently offered CFU members the highest minimum salaries of any unionized full-time contract faculty in the country, alongside strong benefits, guaranteed raises and more. We cannot lose sight of our responsibility to our students, no matter what happens. They are our top priority and we are prepared to continue their academic progress if the union goes on strike."

Negotiations pick up again Friday morning and could last all weekend, right up to the deadline at 8 a.m. Monday. Without a deal, picketing would start 9 a.m. Monday on Mercer Street.

"You'll see a lot of us here. We're going to have an inflatable rat," Ritter said. "It's going to be rowdy. It's going to be lively."

Sophomore Jamie Hesseltine plans to join the picket line if a deal isn't reached.

"They're over half of the full-time faculty here at NYU, and they're really what make this university so great," Hesseltine said.

NYU Chief Communications Officer Wiley Norvell said there will still be classes on Monday even if a strike happens.

"Our chief priority right now is our students. No matter what happens going into this weekend, we're going to make sure we can protect their academic continuity," he said.

The university said classes taught by tenured professors would continue as normal. Others could be covered by substitutes, including other NYU faculty and outside instructors.