NYC university teacher lockout ends; contract talks continue

NEW YORK (AP) — About 400 faculty members of a New York City university were back to teaching Thursday after the school locked them out for 12 days over a bitterly contested contract.

"The union's commitment not to strike during this academic year provides us enough runway to reach a reasonable and fair agreement, while providing our students the ability to continue their studies uninterrupted," said Gale Haynes, the university's chief operating officer.

The university had said professors rejected a proposed contract that would have cut salaries and hours for new adjunct professors — who represent about half the teaching staff — while offering existing faculty average raises of more than 13 percent over five years.