The Adjunct Faculty Alliance-United Auto Workers — a union representing School of Cinematic Arts adjunct faculty — ratified a memorandum of understanding addressing pay and contract negotiations with the University, 197-7, the union announced on its Instagram Tuesday. 

The MOU — a non-binding agreement that establishes the intentions of both involved parties — comes amid negotiations for AFA-UAW’s first contract since its establishment in February 2024.

Provisions of the agreement include increasing hours or pay for some adjuncts and continuing meetings during the summer. 

The agreement also moves to pause contract negotiations until Feb. 1, 2026 so the union can organize with United Faculty-UAW — a proposed union made up of non-tenure track faculty across USC, currently excluding SCA and the Keck School of Medicine. 

UF-UAW is awaiting a ruling from the National Labor Relations Board on its effort to hold a union election which the University challenged in January.

AFA-UAW filed a charge with the NLRB against SCA on April 9 alleging bad faith bargaining that included implementing “unilateral changes” on appointment and teaching policies, it wrote in an April 14 press release. 

In a statement to the Daily Trojan on April 16, the University wrote that there has been “no substantive change” in SCA’s appointment process this year and that they are committed to bargain in good faith with the union.