Arbitrator Finds NYU Violated Adjuncts’ Contract
New York University was recently found to be in violation of its adjunct professor union contract.
The union’s contract requires NYU to compensate adjunct professors who are not re-appointed for an upcoming academic year. If an adjunct professor has taught for more than three consecutive academic years and is not reappointed for the following year, the contract requires termination compensation equal to the most recent academic year’s pay.
But arbitrator Susan Mackenzie concluded in a February 19, 2010 ruling that the university was in violation of its contract by not also giving termination pay to professors who were reappointed for fewer courses than they had been teaching before.
The university and adjunct union, ACT-UAW Local 7902, disagree over whether reappointment is determined by the number of courses taught or just by employment.
"We disagree with her conclusion and think it misconstrues the agreement," NYU spokesman John Beckman said. "From the university’s standpoint, if an adjunct faculty member were reappointed to teach one course instead of two, then he or she has been reappointed to an adjunct position, and thus should not be eligible for the ‘termination pay.’"
Mackenzie determined that an adjunct who "continues to teach other courses … is still employed" and is eligible for termination pay, according to the dispute’s Opinion and Award document.
According to Kathleen Bishop, an LSP adjunct professor and vice president of the union, disputes over termination pay have been an ongoing problem for years.
"I am glad that I have a union that is looking out for my best interests and will protect my rights under the contract," she said.
Other violations included NYU claiming that certain faculty were not covered by the contract, thus changing pay rates and benefits. NYU also reclassified a music professor’s course from lecture to studio, which changed the pay rate.
"I wish it didn’t have to go to these repeated arbitrations, and in the future, I hope that the union and NYU can work better to avoid it," Bishop said.
Beckman says this dispute has not and will not impact students, as numerous adjunct professors have been reappointed without problems.
"This is pretty much inside-baseball contract interpretation stuff," he said. "That’s why we have a mechanism built into the contract to resolve disagreements about interpretation."
However, Bishop disagreed.
"It’s obviously not in students’ best interests if NYU doesn’t observe the contract," she said.
Joel Schlemowitz, the president of ACT-UAW Local 7902, said the compensations provide accountability.
"What this means for faculty and students is it ensures that there is going to be greater stability," Schlemowitz said. "There’s less likelihood of NYU just shifting people around for no good reason at all."
The ruling does not say if any of the specific cases deserved termination pay. NYU and the union must work out a resolution within the next 60 days. The adjunct faculty union agreement expires on August 31 so contract negotiations will begin as well.
