Hofstra University faculty union votes to authorize possible strike
Hofstra University's faculty union has voted to authorize a possible strike amid contract negotiations. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
The union representing nearly 600 Hofstra University faculty members has voted to authorize a strike as its Aug. 31 contract expiration date looms.
An “overwhelming majority” — almost 99% — of the 222 faculty members on a video conference Friday voted in favor of green-lighting a potential strike, with 219 voting yes and three voting no, said Anthony Basile, professor of accounting at Hofstra’s Frank G. Zarb School of Business and president of Hofstra’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors.
A strike could only happen after the current five-year contract expires on Aug. 31, he said. Classes at the private university in Hempstead are set to begin the same day. The school had more than 10,500 students last fall, including about 6,600 undergraduates.
“Nobody wants a strike,” Basile said. He added, “None of us wants to disrupt anything here. ... But unfortunately, if it doesn't get settled, we have no choice.”
A Hofstra spokesperson, Terry Coniglio, said in a statement, “With almost a month remaining in the current contract, we look forward to continuing to bargain in good faith with the AAUP to reach a fair collective bargaining agreement.”
Basile said the university has proposed salary increases of 2.5% in the first year of the next contract, with 1.5% increases in each of the following years. He said Hofstra also wants the faculty to contribute 32% of health insurance premiums, up from the current 25% share, and the university would impose healthcare deductibles of $750 to $1,500, along with coinsurance payments, and cut back on pension and life insurance benefits.
By contrast, he said, the faculty have asked for raises of 6.5% each year, after they agreed to forgo a contractual 3% annual raise in 2021 to help the university get through the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the proposed increases would also make up for rising healthcare costs and inflation.
“We've been significantly underpaid for the last five years,” he said.
Basile said the faculty have proposed keeping health insurance costs unchanged and found a way to potentially save $10 million on healthcare costs by changing third-party administrators.
Coniglio did not comment on the details of the contract talks, saying in a statement, “Negotiations are ongoing and these matters will be discussed at the bargaining table.”
Hofstra’s AAUP chapter represents 595 full-time and part-time professors at the school. It does not represent faculty at the law school or medical school, Basile said. Members must be present at a special meeting in order to vote on strike authorization, and department chairs are not allowed to vote, he said.
In 2016, the faculty voted to authorize a strike, with 97% of voting members approving the measure. That year, the two sides reached a tentative agreement at 2:15 a.m. on Aug. 31, the expiration date, after more than 20 meetings, then-chapter president Dennis Mazzocco said at the time. In 2021 and 2022, the faculty and administration agreed to extend the previous five-year contract.
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.
