Candidate Statements

April 2025 Special Election

2nd Vice President

Jason Tomme
I dove headfirst into union volunteerism during the run up to our current contract in 2022. I joined the bargaining committee in the Fall of that year and used my role to push for dignity and fairness. My experience and over 15 years of teaching at NYU (Steinhardt Art Dept.) allowed me to reject fear and timidity when representing members in contract negotiations. I strongly advocated for a significant pay raise.

Achieving a transformative pay increase for Adjuncts was a huge struggle, as was greater access to benefits. Thankfully, we achieved some of those things. Not all. Shortly thereafter, I successfully ran for a seat on the Joint Council. I am also an elected Steward. 

We face many challenges in higher ed, made worse by the recent presidential election. Improving (and maintaining) workplace conditions in a hostile political climate is going to be one challenge. But anti-intellectualism and threats to academic freedom, freedom of speech, and human dignity must also be vigorously opposed. 

Unions promote uniting workers. And we are workers. But being a “worker” at a higher ed institution embodies certain values. Free and independent thinking, truth-seeking, and a willingness to strongly defend those values is also part of the profession, part of our work. Otherwise, what’s the point of being affiliated with Academia? Liberal education? Intellectualism? Being a teacher? 

To continue championing progressive causes and outcomes, I am running for Second Vice President to have more input into bettering the union: More transparency, creativity, camaraderie, and effectiveness. Second VP sits on the Executive Board where key decisions and debates are held.

Currently, the union needs bridge-building within its own ranks but also within the academic community (staff and admin), along with much needed reforms (bylaw reforms). This will allow members to have a better functioning union in general, including taking on issues like academic freedom and job security.

As we cultivate a stronger union, our camaraderie and common cause are valuable assets in achieving even better future contracts (fast approaching) along with the incredible political headwinds that are sure to affect us. 

Please support me for 2nd Vice President, along with Judith Sloan for Trustee on the Members for Democracy slate.

Lenny Black
For many, the outcome of the recent Presidential election presents us with a daunting future,
and while these fears are understandable and shared, I believe the result also presents us with
a unique hope for more vigorous organizing. The labor landscape is facing an imminent change
– one that will not look upon unions favorably – prompting us to come together and organize not
only as strong individual units, but a strong local bound together through intimate cross-campus
struggle and solidarity. In the face of the Trump regime, it's crucial that we don't shrink away but
build up our strength to effectively fight back. I'm committed to mobilizing our membership,
advocating for progressive policies, and standing in solidarity with marginalized communities.

As a member of the SENS Bargaining Committee we were effectively able to contractualize
protections for vulnerable populations, knowing that the risks they face now were an impending
possibility. Some of these protections include ICE off campus, gender and reproductive care
assurances, and the right to academic freedom. In addition to these protections I was also able
to help secure nearly 30% first year pay increases for all positions covered by the agreement,
an increase in health care coverage, and the creation of a campus-wide childcare fund. Through
our strength we’ve shown that we can bargain for the common good and create stronger,
healthier communities for all.

While strong contracts are important, I think building up our strength through solidarity as a local
is just as important, including continuing to organize new units, such as CFU, SWAN, and
NewSWU. The coming presidential administration presents dangers for many of our members,
whether it be an attack on immigration rights, academic freedoms, gender and reproductive
rights, or protesting for Palestine. Through our strength in numbers, through cross-campus
struggle and solidarity, I believe we position ourselves better to confront challenges and fight for
our rights in the face of political adversity.

I’m proud to be running on the 7902 Solidarity in Action slate and believe our power as a local is
based on the unity of our membership. Only by bringing the membership together and putting
solidarity in action can we fight and win. As Second Vice President I will work tirelessly to help
preserve and promote the strength of our local and our contracts.

Trustee

Matthew Zavislan
My name is Matthew Zavislan. I am a PhD student in the philosophy department at the New School for Social Research. I have been a SENS member since 2021 and an active member of the joint SENS/NewSWU Organizing Committee since last year. I also serve on the newly-created volunteer SENS contract enforcement team. My organizing ethos has always been that we’re all best off organizing with our friends, and so when several friends found themselves heavily invested in the process of organizing around and bargaining for a historic new contract for SENS,  it became no longer possible for me to stand by and watch them struggle on my behalf. Of course, the near-inevitable problem of only organizing with your friends is that in a community like the one we have at The New School you will meet so many incredibly kind, inspirational, and compassion ate people that it is almost impossible to not make new friends. The circle of solidarity grows ever wider the more you embrace it.

This conviction only deepened for me last spring when, despite the grief and heartache of the moment, despite the difficulty of the work we did and have yet to do, I had the honor of organizing alongside members from both NYU and TNS as part of the UAW 7902 Labor for Palestine working group. There I witnessed the power and the potential of organized labor, and how, perhaps more than ever before in my lifetime, we are at a pivotal point in the determination of its future. It is also perhaps now more necessary: wages continue to lag behind the cost of living, bombs continue to drop overseas, and a second Trump presidency looms ominously on the horizon, bringing with it so much insecurity for so many of our members in regard to their legal status, student loan debt, academic freedom, and their ability to access affordable life-saving reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare.

This is why I am running for the position of Trustee. In such a capacity, I would also be in a position to follow-up on the proposal I raised at our fall membership meeting pertaining to the possibility of renegotiating our per-capita tax with the International so as to give us more direct control over the employment of our wonderful staff organizers. As a member of the 7902 Solidarity in Action slate, I fully endorse our statement of principles. 

Judith Sloan
My name is Judith Sloan. I’m running for Trustee for ACT-UAW 7902. I’ve been teaching at NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study for more than 20 years.

We face a federal administration imposing an onslaught of executive orders that are hostile toward unions (and almost every living thing). We need to be doing our due diligence about how to fight back, and that takes teamwork. As one of the trustees, I want to help educate members about ways they can make proposals and how they can better understand the way the dues structure works.

The position of Trustee on the Executive Board is to oversee the finances of the entire union local and support the Financial Secretary. Experience and expertise matters. I am fluent in reviewing financial statements that are filed with the IRS, and other governmental reports that we file as a union. 

After being elected to the Joint Council (JC) in 2020, I was also elected to the bargaining committee in 2022 to negotiate our current contract, which runs until (2028). Throughout the negotiations, in conversations and in small meetings, I listened to the stories of hundreds of adjuncts from different schools within NYU. I pushed for open bargaining, meaning that all union members could attend and participate. I collaborated with other members of the bargaining committee, bringing adjunct professors into the bargaining room to share their testimonials. I believe  that adjuncts are capable of representing their work experience in their own words. Dozens of testimonies had a visceral impact in bargaining.

As an elected JC member and Steward, I’ve used my skills in organizing and compiling information to help the executive board with their tasks and to organize workshops for members. I believe all union members should have unobstructed access to participate in our collective work. As higher education is under attack, we have to find creative ways to fight back, and help our colleagues thrive.

As a Steward I’ve been able to help many of my colleagues navigate complex work situations. I believe in the incredible range of expertise, diverse disciplines, and humanity represented in our union. We are interconnected with contract faculty, students, fellow adjuncts and workers everywhere. I want to encourage engagement by new members in the union, so their meaningful work and ideas are valued.

Please support me for Trustee and Jason Tomme for 2nd VP on the Members for Democracy slate.

Elizabeth Torres
My name is Elizabeth Torres and I would be honored to be a part of the executive board as a trustee member. I bring 25 plus years of teaching experience as a Part-Time Assistant Professor in the BFA and AAS Fashion Design and Marketing programs at the Parsons School of Fashion. I have served on the Part-Time Faculty Bargaining Committee resulting in a groundbreaking collective bargaining union contract between ACT-UAW Local 7902 and the New School. At present I also serve as a representative for the part-time faculty on the Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice Committee. Also, proud to be a member of the Solidarity for Action Slate.

All of the above has humbly strengthened my integrity, commitment and capacity to listen to our vast community members. As trustee my intention is to continue to listen for and bring forth that integral responsibility of our financial health in collaboration with my peers on the executive board. In this practice, I will pursue the necessary training that will match that responsibility. Collaborate with the Financial Officers of our local union to maintain the integrity of the bonded conformity with the laws of the international Union.

Being a Latina born and raised in Brooklyn taught me at an early age that with powerful mentors, advocates and camaraderie, we can excel our level of standards that are critical to succeed. The strength lives in our on-gong development and willingness to create relatedness in our voices.

Higher Education Council

Gordon Beeferman
I am running for Higher Ed Council to continue the work I’ve been doing for almost three years with our union. I worked on the NYU Adjuncts contract campaign and helped lead the Organizing Committee. I was elected as a Joint Council member and a steward, and now am the 1st Vice President of 7902. I believe coordinating locally, regionally, and nationally is how we build power as contingent academic workers in this extremely precarious and dangerous time, and I want to bring my experience, and the networks I’ve helped build, to that work on the Higher Education Council.

Grae Bowen
I've recently been participating in coordinating efforts to act in solidarity with our siblings at Columbia and work toward a greater movement of labor organizing within higher education. It's clear that the UAW does not know, or perhaps care, how to support us and it's absolutely imperative that we develop strategies leveraging the strength of our unique positions, rather than only follow the traditional strategies of UAW. As an effective coordinator who's organizing within the Paid Family Leave campaign and developing communications strategies, my experience and pragmatic skills would make me an invaluable member of the Higher Education Committee.

Patricia Rodriguez
I have been an adjunct instructor for over 10 years at Tandon School of Engineering where I now teach a variety of courses. For 5 years I have served as an advisor to the student earthquake VIP team.
In October, I took the training course in leadership at the UAW center where I understood how important union representation is to the wellbeing and security of higher education workers. If elected, I will commit myself to understanding the needs and desires of the higher education community and
ensure that those needs are heard and considered by the UAW.

Jared Silberman
My understanding is that the proposed Higher Council Education Council has at least two aims.  First, to better coordinate strategies and actions of higher education unions throughout the U.S. and Second, to advocate for specific needs of higher education workers in this challenging environment.  
My background as a DoD bioethics subject matter expert, practicing attorney and NYU Adjunct for over ten years would bring these traits to the Council.  I humbly ask for your vote and if elected will advance our Adjunct Union’s best course and future needs.

Judith Sloan
My name is Judith Sloan. I’m running for the Higher Ed Council for the NYU Unit. I’ve been teaching at NYU for more than 20 years and have been actively involved in the union for most of my time teaching. As a current elected Joint Council member and elected Steward, I have my ear close to the ground listening to the concerns of adjuncts across the entire NYU Unit. We all know that higher education is under attack (along with all humane institutions) throughout the country. Please vote for me for the Higher Ed Council to represent our unit nationwide.

Charles Gelman

Pierre Gervois