I'm an NYU Contract Professor. This Is Why We Plan to Strike.

"For years, NYU's handsomely paid administrators have consolidated power over university life while casualizing the school's teaching force, not only by hiring part-time adjuncts but also by creating a second tier of full-time contract faculty like myself. These contingent workers often have responsibilities equivalent to those of tenured colleagues, but lack commensurate pay, benefits, and protections."

"Although some have taught at NYU for decades, their renewable appointments mean they must effectively reapply for their jobs every three to five years. Some peer universities have similarly casualized full-time faculties, but not at the same scale. At NYU, contract faculty have grown tenfold over two decades, now comprising half of the school's full-time faculty."

"CFU-UAW emerged from the need for better job security and pay, but also out of a widespread demand for academic freedom, which has been severely compromised under NYU President Linda Mills's administration. The union also seeks protections regarding AI and intellectual property - issues that administrators have stubbornly refused to negotiate on."

NYU has systematically casualized its teaching workforce by creating a second tier of full-time contract faculty alongside part-time adjuncts. Contract faculty now comprise half of NYU's full-time faculty, a tenfold increase over two decades. These workers perform equivalent responsibilities to tenured colleagues but receive lower pay, fewer benefits, and minimal protections. Their renewable three-to-five-year appointments require constant reapplication for employment. Contract Faculty United-UAW, representing over 900 professors, emerged to address job insecurity and inadequate compensation. The union also demands academic freedom protections and safeguards regarding artificial intelligence and intellectual property rights, which NYU administration has refused to negotiate. Arts professors, particularly from Steinhardt School and Tisch School of the Arts, comprise significant union membership.

Read at Hyperallergic