NYU TERMINATION PAY ELIGIBILITY ARBITRATION

ACT-UAW Prevails in Article X Termination Pay Arbitration 
March 12, 2010

Arbitrator Susan Mackenzie has found NYU’s administrators to be in violation of the adjunct faculty union contract by failing to comply with the reappointment procedures, including providing termination pay to adjuncts.

The arbitrator’s decision reads in part:

The Employer does violate Article X of the collective bargaining Agreement by precluding Adjunct Instructors who meet the conditions precedent in Article X from eligibility for termination pay solely on the basis that they continue to receive any appointment(s) to teach course(s).

This is an important victory for all of us. We regard these protections as a cornerstone to our job security. Over the life of the contract, the university has violated the contract numerous times, but to date our local has prevailed in each dispute taken to arbitration.

From Our Contract
Article X – Re-Appointment Procedures and Continued Service

A. Subject to the provisions of paragraph B:

1. An employee with prior good performance as an eligible adjunct in the same department of a School of the University for not fewer than six (6) consecutive semesters (exclusive of summer sessions) during the three (3) academic year period immediately receding a re-appointment, shall be notified by that University department no later than May 21 of appointment for both the following Fall and Spring semesters. Such notification of re-appointment shall be subject to cancellation due to insufficiency of registration, course cancellation or changes in curriculum in each semester. If such an employee is not re-appointed to an adjunct position for other reasons, he/she shall receive termination pay equivalent to the monetary compensation he/she received for the most recent Fall and Spring semesters. By mutual agreement between the adjunct and the department, in lieu of any termination pay, the adjunct may accept a terminal teaching assignment for the Fall and Spring semesters.

2. An employee with prior good performance as an eligible adjunct in the same department of a School of the University in either the Fall or Spring semesters for each of the six (6) consecutive academic years immediately preceding a reappointment, shall be notified by that University department no later than May 21 of appointment for one (1) semester in the following academic year. Such notification of re-appointment, shall be subject to cancellation due to insufficiency of registration, course cancellation or changes in curriculum each semester. If such an employee is not re-appointed to an adjunct position for other reasons, he/she shall receive termination pay equivalent to the monetary compensation he/she received for the previous semester’s appointment as an adjunct. By mutual agreement between the adjunct and the department, in lieu of any termination pay, the adjunct may accept a terminal teaching assignment for one semester.

B. In order to be eligible and as a condition precedent to receiving re-appointment or termination pay under paragraph A, an adjunct or part-time faculty member must notify the Chair of his/her department, or, in the absence of a Chair, other appropriate University administrator, of his/her request to teach for the following academic year, and of his/her qualification under the provisions of paragraph A. Such notification must be in writing and be received no later than the preceding December 15.