Hofstra University prepares for possible faculty strike as contract talks continue
Hofstra University's faculty union could strike if contract negotiations stall. Credit: Howard Schnapp
With a potential faculty strike looming, the union says Hofstra University is warning professors that they would lose pay and other benefits if they walk out and those on work visas could face unspecified “immigration implications.”
The contract dispute is heating up as first-year students prepare for move-in day on Thursday. The faculty’s five-year contract is set to expire on Monday, Aug. 31, the first day of classes. The faculty voted earlier this month to authorize a potential strike, with 99% of voting members approving the measure.
In an email provided by Hofstra’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, which represents faculty, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs Charles Riordan told faculty on Tuesday that the school is creating “contingency plans” in case of a strike.
Professors who plan to teach in-person classes even if a strike occurs must respond to a survey about their plans by Thursday, Riordan wrote. If any faculty members do not answer the survey, the university “will consider you to be participating in the strike,” Riordan wrote. Striking professors “will not be paid for the period during which they are on strike and will be responsible for 100% of the cost of maintaining medical and dental insurance.”
Total monthly health insurance costs range from $1,757 for an individual to $8,568 for the top family plan, Hofstra’s head of human resources, Denise Cunningham, wrote earlier this month in a separate email, which was also provided by the faculty union. Participating in a strike could also have “immigration implications,” she wrote, without offering further details.
She wrote, “We very much want to avoid a strike, and faculty should continue preparing for regular teaching and for the start of the semester.”
Hofstra spokeswoman Terry Coniglio did not dispute the authenticity of the emails Tuesday. In a statement, she said the Hempstead university is “actively engaged” in contract talks.
“Hofstra is preparing for a range of possible outcomes of the negotiations. The focus is on welcoming students and faculty back to campus this week and beginning the new academic year on August 31,” she said.
She noted in the statement that, “Federal immigration regulations place restrictions on the University’s ability to sponsor certain foreign national employees when a strike, lockout, or other qualifying work stoppage affects the occupation in which the sponsored individual is or will be employed.”
The bargaining team for the university’s faculty union urged members not to fill out the survey.
“They’re trying to scare our members,” Hofstra faculty union chapter president and accounting professor Anthony Basile said Tuesday. “The administration does not believe that our members are as solidly behind us as they are.”
Faculty members do not want to walk out, he said. If contract talks stall and an extended strike takes place, students might depart Hofstra for other schools, Basile said.
“It’s a shame, but as a parent of college graduates, I can understand it,” he said.
The two sides remain at odds over salaries and benefits, Basile said.
The university has proposed a salary increase of 2.5% in the first year of the next contract, with 1.5% increases in each of the following years, Basile previously said. The faculty union wants raises of 6.5% each year, after members agreed to a salary freeze during the pandemic.
Basile said this week that the proposed new contract would also require professors to pay more for health insurance and other benefits, despite their increased workload now that the university has increased the amount of research done by faculty.
Basile said his analysis of salaries showed that since 2019, top administrators’ pay has risen by 23.2%, roughly equal to inflation. He said faculty compensation has risen by a much lower 12%, losing ground after inflation.
The administration and faculty have held a dozen negotiation sessions since March, and they expect to meet for further talks on Wednesday and Friday, according to the union.
The last time the union and administration negotiated a contract was 10 years ago. The last time a strike took place was in 1988, according to the union.
Maura McDermott covers education. Since joining Newsday in 2012, she also has worked on the investigations team and covered real estate and the business of health care.
