Last Wednesday, November 16, the union representing part-time faculty at the New School in New York City went on strike. ACT-UAW Local 7902 just saw its previous contract with the university expire and is in negotiations for a new contract. Striking workers say they’ve seen their real wages decline as pay increases fail to keep up with the rising cost of living; they’re also demanding greater job security for part-time faculty, who make up 87 percent of teaching staff at the New School but often receive teaching assignments just a few weeks before the semester begins.

The strike at the New School is happening while a massive strike continues on the opposite coast, with forty-eight thousand academic workers in the University of California system out since November 14 amid a broader uptick in labor organizing across the country. Jacobin’s Charlie Muller spoke with striking New School faculty about what they hope to win, how they’ve organized for the strike, and how students have been showing solidarity.