NEW SCHOOL TEACHERS

Part-time teachers at the New School are close to finally winning union representation with the United Auto Workers. In late February, the National Labor Relations Board certified that 530 teachers had voted for a union, compared to 466 who voted against.

However, there are 87 ballots currently in dispute.

The UAW believes that most of these ballots are votes for the union, cast by teachers who meet the eligibility criteria. However, New School management has challenged them as ineligible.

These challenges may be resolved very quickly. But the New School administration has hinted that it may make one last appeal to the NLRB. The New School’s lawyers are considering filing objections to the way the election was conducted, and would ask that a new election take place.

In the fall of 2002, teachers began an organizing campaign at the New School. The New School’s jazz faculty and teachers at the New School’s Guitar Study Center are already represented by Local 802. The UAW would represent the rest of the part-time faculty.

For the latest information on the campaign, see www.NewSchoolUAW.org.