Following up its success in organizing and negotiating a first contract for graduate students working as teaching or research assistants at New York University, the United Auto Workers yesterday filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to organize the university’s adjunct professors. The American Federation of Teachers---which has represented clerical and technical staff at NYU for over twenty years---announced yesterday that they would be filing such a petition today. While there may be disagreement over which union to join, with average pay of only $2,500 per a course and no chance of gaining tenure many of the 3,000 to 4,500 adjuncts at NYU are eager achieve greater voice and protections through unionization.
See "2 Unions Compete for N.Y.U. Adjunct Professors", The New York Times, The New York Times, March 20, 2002