Candidate Statements

2nd Vice President

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 an authoritarian new presidency, 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.

In Solidarity,
Lenny Black, PhD Student, Politics at The New School
SENS Bargaining and Organizing Committee

Jason Tomme
I dove headfirst into union work and volunteerism during the run up to our current contract. I joined the bargaining committee in the Fall of 2022 and used my role to push for a bold and better contract that focused on fairness and dignity. Increasing adjunct faculty pay was a major push. 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). 

Back then, I was new to Union work. But I wasn’t new to working at, contributing to, and observing NYU as an institution. 

Outside of the university, as a visual artist, I function as a sole proprietor of sorts. However, my university life has drawn me to collective action and efforts to improve the place we work, research, teach, and experiment in. These efforts and collective action are something I take seriously.

Like many Universities today, ours is a place of divided values and is experiencing various inflection points. Whether it be issues of academic freedom, threats of anti-intellectualism, freedom of speech, and human dignity for students, staff, and faculty. Collectively, these issues can and should be molded by the entire community but especially by the people who fuel the institution’s core “brand” of intellectualism, humanism, enlightenment, and pedagogy that the University benefits from, markets, and profits. 

Being a “worker” at a higher ed institution shouldn’t just be about pay and stratified worker bee-ism. It should also demand that we embody certain values, and a willingness to defend those values. Otherwise, what’s the point of being affiliated with Academia? 

To continue my union work and to champion progressive outcomes, I am running for Second Vice President to frankly have more input into bettering the Union. More transparency, creativity, camaraderie, and effectiveness. Second VP is also a seat at the Executive board where key decisions and debates are held.

​Currently the union itself needs some bridge building along with much needed reforms (e.g. bylaw reforms). This will allow members to have a better functioning union in general, including taking on issues like academic freedom and job security, which we face at this very moment. As we cultivate a stronger union, our camaraderie is essential as contract renewals approach both The New School and NYU. 

Trustee

Charles Altman
I believe that  my background in legal matters, finance and corporate governance will benefit  Local 7902.  I am a graduate of NYU Law school and the NYU Schack Real Estate Institute, where I have taught for 15 years.  I am also an adjunct professor at Cardozo Law School.  I have held leadership positions in the Association of American Law Schools, the national organization that supports law professors. I have developed new courses and attended many national academic conferences.  These experiences have provided me with an understanding of the operational and financial aspects of academic institutions.    Within that context I am particularly appreciative of how the UAW has benefited adjunct faculty in New York City. 

I have significant experience in negotiating and drafting complex legal agreements.  Perhaps there may be times when that experience will be of benefit in regard to UAW contract matters. My current scholarship is focused on easing regulatory burdens to increase the supply of affordable housing.   I have always loved drawing and design and in recent years have pursued an interest in the production of documentaries. 
​
You can learn more about me at my NYU Faculty Bio .

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. 

Judith Sloan
My name is Judith Sloan. I am running for the position of trustee for ACT UAW 7902.  I’ve been teaching for 20+ years, and was teaching when ACT-UAW 7902 was first established to represent adjunct faculty at NYU in 2002. 

After joining the Joint Council in 2020,  I was asked to self-nominate for the bargaining committee in 2022 to help negotiate our new contract. Throughout the negotiations, in conversations and small meetings, I listened to hundreds of adjuncts from different schools within NYU. I collaborated with other members of the bargaining committee, bringing adjunct professors into the bargaining room to share their testimonials. By respecting that adjuncts are capable of representing their work experience in their own words, the testimonies had a visceral impact in bargaining. 

As a Joint Council member and elected steward, I’ve used my skills in organizing and compiling information to help the executive board with their tasks. I believe all union members should have unobstructed access to participate in our collective efforts. 

The position of trustee is intended to oversee the finances of the entire union and support the Financial Secretary.  I have expertise in reviewing 990s that are filed with the IRS and the other governmental reports that we file as a union. As we face a new federal administration hostile toward unions, we need to be doing our due diligence, and that takes teamwork. As one of three trustees, I want to expand our ability to educate members about ways they can make proposals; how they can better understand the way the dues structure works; and help members understand that this is our union. 

As a steward for the Union, I’ve been able to help many of my colleagues navigate complicated work situations. I enjoy being part of a community that is dedicated to uplifting workers, growing their wages, and building a proud and honorable collective. I believe in the incredible range of collective expertise, diverse disciplines, and humanity represented in our local 7902. With increased collective collaboration and commitment, we can move the union forward in ways that no single person can. We are interconnected with union members across the sector, with contract faculty, students, fellow adjuncts and workers everywhere. Let’s ensure that as people get involved, they are treated with respect, so their meaningful work and ideas are valued.

To find out more or get in touch with questions click here

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.