We voted overwhelmingly to form our Union to establish a meaningful say about what it looks like to be valued by our employer.  We spent months drafting our contract proposals based on hundreds of comments and contributions from over a majority of faculty members. SVA’s most recent counter-proposals make it clear that they want to maintain the status quo and their sole discretion over the vast majority of our contracts and benefits.

We acknowledge that these are really challenging times for higher education in the United States, specifically in arts programs. Yet, we continue to affirm that the whole point of collective bargaining is to work together to make a better SVA for everyone. Unfortunately, the messaging that we’ve received from SVA through their counter-proposals is that they want to maintain the power to give and take away as they see fit. SVA included language that would preserve their ability to do this under our contract, which is antithetical to the spirit of collaboration under which our Union was formed.

Last week, we received an initial set of responses from the SVA administration on our economic proposals. Please find an overview below, and the full proposals on our bargaining tracker:

We proposed Faculty health insurance with premiums equal to staff health insurance for those with 225+ teaching hours - with higher (but feasible!) premiums as teaching hours decrease. In this plan, Faculty who teach 3 classes per semester would pay a premium of $6,864 for the Integrated OAP Family Plan.

SVA rejected this proposal, and dismissed the notion that instructors teaching less than 3 courses need access to more affordable healthcare options through SVA. They countered with the same health insurance plan we currently have - one in which Faculty who teach 3 classes per semester pay a premium of $40,273 for the Integrated OAP Family Plan. They also proposed that they have sole discretion to modify or eliminate health insurance without negotiation with the faculty.

We proposed a fund for Faculty Professional Development. SVA rejected this proposal.

We proposed Faculty Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts. SVA rejected this proposal.

We proposed that all benefits not addressed in our contract shall be continued unless otherwise agreed upon by the School and the Union. SVA rejected this proposal.

We proposed that SVA will continue to provide sabbaticals, sick and safe time leave, paid family leave, short-term disability leave, museum benefits, and TransitChek pre-tax transportation benefits to Faculty Members.

SVA countered that these benefits may be paused, modified, or eliminated without negotiation with the Union, under sole discretion of SVA. They provided no criteria for adjustment to these policies.  

We proposed that SVA shall make an annual non-elective 5% contribution to each employee’s 401(k), plus an additional matching contribution up to 5% should we choose to contribute to our own 401(k) plans.

SVA countered that they will not provide a non-elective contribution, and will only provide a matching contribution if they do so for non-managerial staff. They added that these benefits may be paused, modified, or eliminated without negotiation with the Union, under sole discretion of SVA.

We proposed that Faculty Members have the presumption of reappointment to a teaching baseload of two or more courses per academic year, unless we want to teach fewer than two courses. A Faculty Member may only be non-reappointed for just cause, at request, or if a Faculty Member’s department is eliminated, at which point the internal Lookaround process for a new appointment for which we are qualified in another department would begin.  If a Faculty Member’s baseload cannot be fulfilled, then we shall be issued a baseload non-fulfillment fee. If a Faculty Member is assigned a course over our baseload, which is then canceled, we shall receive a cancellation fee. Any open courses should be first offered to qualified current Faculty Members before hiring a new Faculty Member to teach the course. We proposed an April 1st deadline for issuing Faculty contracts, union authorization cards, and faculty resource guides for the following academic year.

SVA countered by completely eliminating the concepts of presumption of reappointment and teaching baseloads, thus also eliminating baseload non-fulfillment and course cancellation fees. They changed the Lookaround process to being “preferred consideration for other teaching opportunities for which the School, in its discretion, determines they are qualified.” They removed any reference to seniority from the Appointments article. They changed the April 1st contract deadline prior to fall semester to August 1st. SVA eliminated the inclusion of union authorization cards and faculty resource guides as provided with contracts.

We proposed that SVA shall provide all materials, equipment, facilities, classroom space, and software required to effectively teach a course at no cost to the Faculty Member. If SVA makes changes to instructional facilities that impact teaching conditions, they must inform us with at least four weeks notice. We shall retain access to our SVA email for at least three years post-separation from SVA. Each instructional building shall have a shared Faculty office space. SVA shall continue to cover the cost of approved field trips.

SVA countered that they will provide materials, equipment, facilities, classroom space, and software “that SVA, in its sole discretion, determines” is required to teach a course effectively. They removed the responsibility to inform us of changes to instructional facilities, and to provide us with shared Faculty office spaces. They removed any reference to us retaining access to our SVA email addresses after separation from the School.

Unfortunately, we are still waiting for the SVA administration to get back to us fully regarding our compensation proposal. We hope that they will provide a comprehensive response at our next session.

Given the discussion at our last bargaining session, building our participation across the School is more important than ever this fall. Interested in joining our effort?

• Keep colleagues in your department up to date about our progress in negotiations
• Join our next bargaining session on Monday, October 12th at 3:30PM as a faculty observer
• Share a testimonial on why these topics matter to you as SVA faculty and help give voice to the issues we’re discussing at the bargaining table.

Adding your voice to our campaign helps send a strong message to the SVA administration and community about the value of our work as artists and teachers, and why we need a strong contract.

Best,

Stephanie Stavropoulos
MFA Design for Social Innovation

On behalf of SVA/FAC-UAW Bargaining Committee

Watch our recent recap from our first bargaining session of the fall last Friday: faculty kicked off the semester by showing up to help send a united message around the value of our work at the School, especially when it’s needed the most.

Hear about our Tentative Agreements on Grievance and Arbitration and Bargaining Unit Info, as well as the newly-revised contracts admin is sending to all faculty with revised language thanks to our inquiry. The administration had a number of questions about our economic proposals, but has not provided any counters yet. Follow along all of our recent progress in negotiations at our online bargaining tracker here.

Our next bargaining session will take place on Tuesday, Sep 29th at 10AM — RSVP here to join the session as an observer.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or thoughts.

Best,

Edwin Rivera-Arias, Humanities & Sciences
On behalf of SVA Faculty United - UAW Organizing Committee

RSVP for Zoom Town Hall August 27th, at 6PM

Kick off the fall semester by joining colleagues across departments at an August Virtual Town Hall to hear updates on our campaign, get answers to questions, and discuss winning a strong first contract! RSVP here to receive the zoom link.

New language in SVA faculty contracts

It’s come to our attention that the SVA administration has placed additional language into faculty contracts regarding at-will employment and arbitration procedures to resolve disputes. If you find this troubling, you’re not alone – we believe that SVA must bargain with us before making changes to aspects of our working conditions, including altering any language in our individual contracts, as such actions are a mandatory subject of bargaining under labor law. However, we advise faculty to accept their offer – this will NOT waive any of our rights as union members, as we continue negotiations.

We are disappointed that the SVA administration continues to make changes unilaterally, and so are working to raise this with SVA and are looking into whether to file an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charge around this recent development.

You can also read recent coverage about our ongoing work to address course cancellations in Hyperallergic.

Stay up to date on our campaign – follow us on Instagram

If you haven’t already, please take a moment to follow our campaign (sva.fac.uaw) on Instagram to stay up to date on our progress and upcoming events; and hear from fellow SVA faculty why we want a fair contract.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or thoughts.

Best,

Sean Paul, Art History
On behalf of SVA/FAC-UAW Organizing Committee

At our last session, we proposed the vast majority of our economic bargaining demands, including our call for Course Cancellation Fees to be paid to faculty whose planned courses are cancelled. As we continue to bargain over this and other critical topics related to faculty working conditions, please take a moment to complete our SVA/FAC-UAW Course Cancellation Survey.

Click here to share if any of your AY 26-27 courses have been cancelled

This survey aims to gather information about our experiences as faculty, in particular, whether you’ve had courses cancelled for the Fall 2026 or Spring 2027 term. Your input will help us address these issues more effectively in bargaining as we prepare for the upcoming academic year.

RSVP for SVA Faculty Union Town Hall 8/27 on Zoom

Save the date and RSVP for a virtual SVA Faculty Union Town Hall on Thursday, August 27th. Join colleagues to hear updates on our campaign, meet fellow SVA faculty, and organize together to strengthen our fight to win our first contract.

You can follow our most recent progress at the bargaining table here.

UAW Webinar on F-1/J-1 Visa Policy Changes
Today (Thursday), August 13th at 3pm, the UAW Higher Education Department is hosting a webinar to discuss how workers on an international visa can navigate the new F-1/J-1 policy, and how to continue organizing against attacks on the international community. RSVP here to receive the link.

Best,

Stephanie Stavropoulos, MFA Design for Social Innovation
On behalf of SVA/FAC-UAW Bargaining Committee

Click here to share a brief testimonial on how fair compensation would support the critical work we perform at SVA!

We’re excited to share that we began discussing economic proposals at Monday’s bargaining session! We kicked things off by proposing a large number of articles. Given the scope of the discussion, you can find a brief summary of each below: 

• Professional Development Fund: This article would establish a fund for Faculty to apply and be reimbursed for professional development opportunities. Like unionized Faculty in NYC who have won similar PD funds in their contracts, this would expand resources for professional development and help us continue to excel in our work with students.
• Intellectual Property: This proposal would enshrine the current SVA Intellectual Property Policy and strengthen Faculty intellectual property rights over our work and art. 
• Jury Duty: This proposal would ensure Faculty would not have any reduction in pay or benefits due to jury duty service.
• Tuition Benefits: This proposal would enshrine tuition benefits for Faculty who wish to take SVA courses.
• Health Insurance Benefits: One of the highest priorities expressed by colleagues across SVA is increased access to healthcare coverage. Currently, benefits are prohibitively expensive and in some cases, our wages are barely enough to cover the health insurance premiums. Ensuring access to affordable healthcare is critical for helping sustain quality teaching at the school.
• Union Leave & Office: This proposes that faculty can receive compensation for our role in assisting with necessary union operational duties. including helping to enforce our future contract. This article also establishes leave-time for Faculty to participate in union activities or opportunities.
• Family Care: This establishes a Family Care Fund to assist faculty caregivers and parents with costs related to child and dependent care.
• Transit & Museum Benefits: These contractualize existing benefits related to transit and museum access.
• Technology: This article responds to feedback from unit surveys regarding situations in which Faculty require technology or equipment to 1) perform their teaching duties or 2) meet industry software standards, but do not have access to the necessary resources. This ensures that the school, not our pocketbooks, helps provide what we need to teach our students.
• Leaves: This codifies benefits provided by law or school policy, and would enhance the current policy in several places. 
• Maintenance of Benefits: This asserts the status of any benefits applicable to current faculty in the unit and ensures the status quo for those unaddressed in our forthcoming contract.
• Pay Day: This adjusts and makes the current asymmetrical payroll schedule more consistent with the academic calendar.
• Workspace and Materials: This article ensures SVA will provide all materials, equipment, facilities, and software required to effectively teach a course at no cost to the Faculty Member.
• Retirement: This establishes meaningful competitive retirement benefits for faculty and brings faculty to standards at peer institutions such as Parsons and NYU, especially keeping in mind that Faculty have lost the retirement benefit matching in the past.
• Sabbaticals: This codifies and improves sabbatical leave policy, one of our most cherished benefits. SVA proudly employs instructors who are experts in creative fields and have illustrious careers. A sabbatical leave gives creatives time to dive into long-term projects and provides the mental space we need to pursue different ideas and sharpen our skills, both of which would enhance our teaching skills and improve SVA’s reputation as a leading art institution.

Compensation
Our overall goal is to establish fair compensation for Faculty that reflects the value of our work and the cost of living in New York. Faculty deserve compensation that allows us to live and thrive in NYC, the arts capital of the world. Fair compensation is a vital contributor to Faculty retention and morale, and will allow us to focus on SVA’s mission of supporting our students. Read more on why a majority of all SVA faculty have called on the administration to address these principles in our first contract.

• Establish minimums to address current rates that lag behind local institutions such as CUNY, NYU, Fordham, and others. 
• Guarantee annual increases that keep pace with the high cost of living in NYC.
• Codify longevity increases that honor commitment to the School and mitigate gender and racial inequities in pay over time.  
• Establish compensation for additional duties outside the classroom.

Our initial proposal was further guided by the rising yearly cost of living in the New York area, an absence of meaningful annual pay raises in recent years (sometimes as low as 0%), and disproportionately low average hourly rates for faculty compared to other schools. You can read our comprehensive initial compensation proposal here.

Finally, we re-asserted our proposal on Welcome Materials and Orientation, and followed up with the SVA administration on our Grievance and Arbitration proposal. They responded that we were very close to an agreement and could expect a counterproposal in the near future. You can follow along on the progress of all proposals here. 

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or thoughts, or to get more involved in our fight for a fair contract. 

Best, 

Billy Altman, Humanities & Sciences
On behalf of SVA/FAC-UAW Bargaining Committee

Big news! As we prepare to bargain over economic topics (e.g pay, benefits, and other important economic priorities), a majority of SVA faculty have signed onto our petition urging the school to work with us towards a fair contract that adequately supports our teaching. You can read the full petition here.

Now more than ever, it’s critical faculty and the SVA community join together around our shared goal of sustaining our school, our students, and that we build towards a contract that reflects the value of our teaching and the work we do in the arts in New York City. If you have not signed the petition, you may still do so.

RSVP to our next session on Monday, July 20th!
On Monday, we will present our initial economic proposals to the SVA administration and begin discussing compensation, healthcare, and other key benefits - RSVP to join the in-person session as an observer here. If you cannot attend, we’ll send out an update after the session, and you are welcome to follow the proposed articles on our online bargaining tracker.

Update from Bargaining Session #13

Last week, we held our thirteenth bargaining session with the SVA administration. We reached a tentative agreement on our VCAP article (Voluntary Community Action Program), which would allow faculty to voluntarily designate a portion of their dues to pro-labor political action efforts that our larger union supports. As many faculty have expressed, establishing a stronger collective political voice is very important in these times. We are also extremely close on a TA with Grievance and Arbitration, which would allow faculty to bring grievances to a neutral arbitrator. We expect to be able to agree on this very soon.

We also discussed the importance of an Employment Records article. This would ensure a contractual right for faculty to access full employment records and ensure that any record is accurate. We are also discussing receiving key demographic data on our unit as a whole from the SVA administration to help support our set of economic proposals that we are prepared to present at Monday’s session.

Feel free to respond with any questions or thoughts. You can watch our recent bargaining recap on our Instagram.

Best,

Merlin Ural Rivera, Humanities & Sciences
On behalf of SVA/FAC-UAW Bargaining Committee

At our twelfth bargaining session, we are happy to share we reached tentative agreements on three more articles with the SVA administration: Health and Safety, Academic Freedom, and Union Management Committee. We are also extremely close to being in agreement on two other articles, Grievance and Arbitration, and Bargaining Unit Information. You can watch bargaining committee member Justin Elm (Art History, VCS, Honors) recap our recent progress here.  

Our Academic Freedom article most importantly ensures faculty have the right to speak freely outside classroom and inside the classroom, without fear of retaliation or reprisal. Similarly, our Health and Safety article establishes a contractual obligation for the SVA administration to maintain a safe and healthy work environment, including adequate heating and cooling, which has been an issue for many faculty, and necessary materials to teach in a safe manner. It also establishes adequate measures to protect faculty working in hazardous environments, such as proper ventilation, and other precautions.

We’re looking forward to future bargaining sessions as we move into the very important stage of negotiating economic articles of this first contract – this will include proposals on pay, benefits, professional development, and others. You can read the full status of all articles we have proposed on our website.

Take a moment to add your name to our petition – the more faculty who sign, the more leverage we have as we prepare to negotiate over compensation and other critical topics:

Add your name to ask SVA administration to recognize the value of our teaching contribution and reach a strong contract!

Other updates:

• USC part-time and full-time faculty vote to unionize: non-tenure track faculty at University of Southern California with United Faculty-UAW won their union by an overwhelming 70% ‘yes’ vote – we’re excited to be part of a growing national movement!
• Congressional Subcommittee approves budget proposal that would defund major arts education grant: The proposal would eliminate the only remaining Department of Education (DE) arts grant program. If you or your work might be impacted by this change, please reply directly to this email to discuss more.
  
• NYC Democratic primary GOTV canvass and phonebank opportunities with UAW Region 9A-endorsed candidates: UAW Region 9A, the geographic region representing over 30,000 workers across NYC, New England, and Puerto Rico that our union is part of, has endorsed five UAW members running for elected office. These candidates can be strong allies in our efforts to improve our working conditions and fight for pro-worker, pro-education policies more broadly. You can read more about the candidates here, and RSVP to help canvas, make calls, or participate in election day poll-visibility today (6/22) and tomorrow (6/23). 

Best,

Joan Hilty, BFA Comics
on behalf of SVA/FAC-UAW Bargaining Committee

Earlier this week, we had our eleventh bargaining session with the SVA administration. Watch Stephanie Stavropoulos (MFA Design for Social Innovation) and Valerie Eads (Humanities & Sciences) walk through a full recap of the session!

We brought three counterproposals on Grievance and Arbitration, Faculty Rights, and Job Posting. We are happy to report that the administration indicated they were on board with the idea of a Faculty Advisory Committee that would support more robust faculty participation in school decisions. However, SVA continues to be hesitant to commit to transparency with faculty especially around topics such as financial status, budget, and facilities.

In regard to Job Posting, we are currently pushing for SVA to develop an internal job posting mechanism that would allow current faculty the opportunity to apply to teach available classes prior to Chairs seeking external applicants.

We are happy to report we had a productive discussion about our Academic Freedom article and are extremely close to an agreement on this article. This article would make sure faculty have the right to express themselves and teach freely without fear of retaliation or retribution of any kind from the School. We also are close to reaching an agreement on Union Management Committee.

Next, we discussed a matter of demographic data. We believe it's important for SVA to provide this information to help inform our future proposals on compensation. The administration has not provided us this data, but based on our conversation, it seems possible they would reconsider. We are still waiting on counters from the SVA administration on Health and Safety and Bargaining Unit Information and hope to receive them at our next session on Tuesday, June 16th.

Need Help?
While we continue to bargain and organize, SVA faculty colleagues should know that since our union is certified, there are certain rights we can already exercise ahead of our first contract. For instance, if you are requested to attend a meeting that could result in discipline or dismissal, it is your right to have representation at that meeting . If you are facing any potential issues, please email [svafacultyunited.uaw@gmail.com] to get in touch.

SVA Faculty Zoom Drop-in Hours
This summer, we will be hosting a series of zoom sessions for faculty to drop-in to ask questions, or discuss any recent developments or updates at the School. Please keep an eye out for the first such date.

Best,

Stephanie Stavropoulos, MFA Design for Social Innovation
On behalf of SVA/FAC-UAW Bargaining Committee

Happy end of semester!

On Tuesday we wrapped up a very productive tenth bargaining session with the SVA administration. We made meaningful progress by coming to an agreement on a couple of articles. Here are a few highlights below:

• Generative AI: Thanks to all our faculty organizing, we were able to agree to a precedent-setting article on Artificial Intelligence that states clearly that SVA will not use AI to teach courses.This underlines our commitment to human instruction in the classroom and creates an enforceable standard for all unionized faculty nationally. You can read our AI Tentative Agreement here.

• Bulletins and Postings: This allows our faculty union to put up posters around campus to spread information.

SVA gave us a handful of counters, including Grievance and Arbitration, Job Posting, Faculty Rights, and Academic Freedom (we are a “word” away from agreeing on this!).

We brought a counter for our Bargaining Unit Information article. While getting closer, we were dismayed by our discussion with SVA’s bargaining team regarding reviewing faculty demographic information to ensure equity and inclusion across our workplace. We are hoping to continue discussing this one and hoping SVA will bridge our differences.

We have gotten this far thanks to organizing and faculty participation, so let’s keep it up! Please join our next session as an observer on May 26th, 3-5pm.

Best,
Mike Falk, Fine Arts, VCS
On behalf of SVA/FAC-UAW Bargaining Committee

Joanne Seador (BFA Photo) and Edwin Rivera-Arias (Humanities & Sciences) give a recap of our recent session.

Earlier this week, we completed our ninth bargaining session with the SVA administration. Due to difficulties scheduling a time that worked for the administration, this was our first session for over a month.

We pressed the SVA administration to respond to a handful of articles they have not responded to for a significant amount of time, including Employment Records, Faculty Appointments, Faculty Rights, Job Posting, and Health and Safety; these address core priorities and must be treated as such.  The SVA administration gave us a few counters on Generative AI, Union Management Committee, Union Security, and Bargaining Unit Information.

While we were unable to come to any tentative agreements, we moved much closer on UMC and Generative AI, and expect to be able to reach an agreement on those in the near future.  Generative AI is a significant topic of conversation at SVA right now and we will ensure it’s addressed in our contract. We also gave SVA counterproposals on Academic Freedom and Grievance and Arbitration.

We are disappointed that the administration has continued to reject a few important elements of our Bargaining Unit Information and Unit Security proposals, including providing welcome materials, and union security clause. These articles currently exist at NYU and The New School, among other unionized faculty contracts, and would ensure that all faculty receive the necessary materials from our union.

If you’re interested in reading more, please check out our proposal tracker on our website — and while you’re there, please sign our petition calling on the administration to bargain more speedily and constructively. Additionally, you can watch our update on Instagram — and join us May 5th from 4-6pm for our next bargaining session:

Click here to watch the video update.

“I’d recommend everyone to be an observer. At the end of the day, ultimately, faculty, the administration, we’re all on the same page wanting to make the school better for faculty and students, and make it thrive.” — George Boorujy, BFA Fine Arts

Best,

Joan Hilty, BFA Comics
On behalf of SVA/FAC-UAW Bargaining Committee

P.S. Thank you to all the students, staff, and faculty who stopped by our table during May Day to discuss our campaign, and the ways we can strengthen our collective voice at SVA and in the arts!