Ballots go out today! More and more of us are getting excited to seize this historic opportunity to secure a stronger faculty voice at USC by voting YES. We held another lively town hall yesterday where we walked through a recent example of how collective bargaining works as a democratic and participatory process in a diverse workforce, and discussed a number of the questions generated by the Provost’s continued campaign to convince faculty to vote against forming our union.
Elisabeth Fay and David Palmer, full-time and adjunct faculty, respectively, from NYU talked about the significant improvements they won through collective bargaining, including $14,000 minimum immediate increases and presumption of renewal after two years for full-time faculty, and 34% increases and expanded healthcare subsidies for adjunct faculty. One of the main questions the Provost is asking us to consider is how one union contract can accommodate our many schools, departments and titles. We’ve included a summary below of how NYU contract faculty approached bargaining, as well as the answers to a few other common questions:
How did NYU contract faculty approach bargaining to win a contract that benefits faculty across dozens of departments and programs?
As Professor Fay described, the elected bargaining committee built a highly participatory and representative process to win a contract that included major improvements for all contract faculty, such as a minimum $14,000 salary increase by September 1 and stronger job security, as well as numerous provisions protecting the specific needs and/or priorities of faculty in particular schools, programs or work situations. For more details, you can read a comprehensive summary of the NYU contract highlights, as well as a list of provisions that address the concerns of specific schools or programs.
Robust majority participation and an effort to include as many voices in the process were key factors that enabled them to win such a strong agreement. A majority of faculty consistently participated in major decisions on the campaign: a majority of faculty voted to form the union, filled out bargaining surveys, voted to approve initial bargaining demands, signed an open letter urging NYU to reach a fair agreement, and attended bargaining sessions. Along the way, the bargaining committee consulted with faculty working groups on particular topics or with faculty in particular schools about specific concerns to secure a contract that raised standards for all faculty and also addressed local-level priorities where that was important. In the end, an overwhelming 81% of all represented contract faculty voted ‘yes’ to approve the final contract.
Why UAW?
We reached out to UAW to help us form a union at USC based on the successful experience of thousands of other faculty at places like NYU, Wellesley, Barnard, the New School, and more that have formed unions with the UAW in recent years. The UAW now represents over 100,000 employees in higher education, including 4,000 other academic workers right here at USC. Forming our union with the UAW also means joining a movement of tens of thousands of UAW academic workers leading the fight against attacks on higher education.
How much are dues, and would I have to pay them?
Membership dues provide the resources necessary for effective representation, and are therefore a normal part of having a union. As part of the UAW, we would not pay dues until we have gone through the bargaining process and voted democratically to approve our first contract. UAW membership dues are currently 1.44% of gross income. In many contracts, since everyone in the bargaining unit benefits from the contract, non-members pay a comparable “fair share” fee so the cost of representation is shared equally. A similar provision at USC would be something we could decide as a part of bargaining.
What is “status quo?” Can USC freeze raises/promotions until we win a contract?
USC has a legal obligation to maintain existing conditions in the election and bargaining period so that we don’t feel obligated to vote a certain way, and so that during bargaining, they are not making changes to the things we are bargaining over. However, where a raise or benefit is regular or expected, USC has a legal obligation to implement that raise or benefit during this period — including previously planned promotions or raises.
Yesterday, Elisabeth Fay shared that, at NYU, during both academic years of their contract negotiations, contract faculty saw both continued merit raises and promotions without interruptions. You can find the agreements they reached with NYU here in 2025 and 2026.
Thanks again to all who attended the town hall and are participating in this unprecedented conversation about faculty working conditions at USC. Keep an eye out for more town halls and discussion next week, in the first week of our historic vote!
Sincerely,
The UF-UAW Organizing Committee