EMMA PIRHALA / NEWS EDITOR

Last week, chants echoed across campus as students, faculty and community members rallied together in solidarity with the non-tenure track (NTT) union’s strike. The strike occurred on Wednesday and Thursday, with picket lines and rallies occurring over the two days. During the two days of the strike, nearly 200 students, faculty and community members picketed in response to wage cuts and course reductions. Additionally, members of other unions came to the event to show support. Leading up to the strike, the University’s collective bargaining team sent an email to the USD community. 

“The timing of the NTT strike, at the end of the semester and on the eve of final exams for many students, is disappointing and unfortunate,” the email read.

NTT faculty marched with a sign on the first day of the strike. Emma Pirhala/The USD Vista

Some students found the language of the email to be abrasive, causing many debates on the popular social media platform Fizz — which is accessible through a USD email.

“The email  about  the  strike from the Dean’s office is so manipulative,” an anonymous user wrote in a post that received 2,100 upvotes.

“This should be a quiet matter and not a scandal on campus,” another anonymous user said. “I did not come to this university to see something as distasteful and disrespectful as professors trying to convince kids not to go to classes.”

An email from the University outlined the union’s demands. Key proposals include a 12.5% raise, a $3,500 signing bonus, an $80,000 base salary with annual raises, tuition benefits, a $100,000 down payment assistance stipend and paid sabbaticals. The union also seeks guaranteed course loads, multi-year contracts and compensation for canceled classes. 

Community members created signs in response to proposed course schedule. Emma Pirhala/The USD Vista

A previous email from administration to faculty explained that if the union’s demands were met, it would led to a 9% increase in undergraduate tuition. For the upcoming 2025-2026 school year, tuition cost $61,340 without any additional mandatory fees. A 9% increase in tuition would result in an approximately $5,520 bump in costs to students. 

The rally began outside of the Student Life Pavilion (SLP) where faculty and students gave speeches. USD Adjunct Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Matt Parker shared his thoughts on the matter at hand.

“We, the non-faculty who teach over half the classes at USD, are no longer willing to be treated as expendable,” Parker exclaimed to the crowd. “We’re not temporary. We’re not invisible. We are educators, we are professionals, we are essential. We are, on this day, on an unfair labor practice strike because the University has repeatedly failed to bargain with us in good faith.”

Some students emerged as prominent supporters of the union during the rallies. USD sophomore Leilani Youmans joined in on the union’s rally to express her support for professors.

Students were involved in the protests throughout the two days. Emma Pirhala/The USD Vista

“I became involved with the union after my professors said they needed student support,” Youmans shared. “My professors have always supported me through my academics, so it was time to support them through this union. They all put so much time, effort and work into their jobs, and I want them all to know that their students love them, and their work does not go unnoticed.”

USD sophomore Sofia Perez also picketed for both days of the strike. Perez explained that it is her duty as a student to raise awareness for her professors.

“As a student, I believe we have a vital role to play in getting the administration to listen to the union because  teaching conditions directly impact our learning conditions,” Perez said. “I think collective action and community engagement like we saw at the rally today is an effective tool in getting the ball rolling. Ultimately, I chose to strike alongside the union to demonstrate that disrupting the status quo and withholding labor highlights the professors’ value, making it clear to the administration and campus community that the school cannot function properly without them.”

Perez further highlighted the impact that the NTT professors have on the USD community.

“I came to USD for the relationships that students develop with their professors, and as a result I have come to develop my own meaningful relationships with all my professors (NTT, TT, and tenured),”  Perez explained. “People do not go into teaching to become rich, they go into teaching because they care about making an impact on young people, and I have felt impacted by each and every professor at USD.”

The demonstration concluded at the Hughes Administration Center, where President Harris’ office is located, to deliver the signed petition from the faculty. Alongside delivering the petition, USD adjunct professor of English, Joe Babcock, called upon the University to make changes.

“This has been called the ‘dirty secret’ of American higher education,” Babcock explained regarding the overutilization of adjunct labor. “So if USD is so obsessed with being this changemaker campus, why don’t they take this opportunity to actually leave to set a model for how other institutions can treat their adjunct faculty?”

When protestors arrived, Harris was out of the building. However, USD’s Chief Legal Officer, Tom Skinner, met with the union’s Bargaining Action Team (BAT) and accepted the petition on the president’s behalf. USD adjunct theater professor Soroya Rowley announced the results of the conversation with Skinner. 

“[Skinner] accepted the petition and is gonna give it to President Harris for us, and he committed to getting this done this semester,” Rowley shared to the crowd. 

The USD Vista contacted the University’s media relations team to learn more about the actions that will be taken by administration following Skinner’s acceptance of the petition. 

“The university  will continue to bargain in good faith with the NTT union, as it has done throughout the process, and is committed to coming to an agreement that supports all members of the USD community,” a media relations representative said. “It is our hope that we can come to this agreement as quickly as possible. The parties are still far apart on compensation, but the university intends to make a new proposal on Monday night in the next bargaining session. While there are no guarantees that the parties will reach an agreement by the end of the semester, everyone involved is working hard to come to an agreement.”

However, as   of  The USD Vista’s production date of May 13, the union and USD have yet to come to a resolution.

NTT faculty marched with a sign on the first day of the strike. Emma Pirhala/The USD Vista