Two high-profile faculty strikes this week put stagnant higher education compensation back at the center of labor negotiations, highlighting widening gaps between campus employee pay and inflation. New York University nontenure-track faculty walked out last Monday before reaching a tentative agreement Wednesday, while Portland Community College staff and faculty also faced extended labor disruption amid ongoing contract bargaining. The reported disputes arrive as national analyses show faculty pay losing ground. A College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) review found tenure-track faculty pay down 11.7% and nontenure-track teaching faculty down 6.8% after adjusting for inflation, compared with pre-pandemic levels. Additional reporting cited longer-term faculty salary stagnation using IPEDS-based benchmarks. Campuses cited budget volatility and operating constraints as they weigh pay increases against staffing and program continuity. At Portland Community College, officials have described expenses outpacing revenue for multiple years, setting up a familiar pressure point for collective bargaining: meeting cost-of-living demands without dismantling student-facing resources. The strikes also underscore how bargaining outcomes can become immediate student-impact events, particularly in institutions that rely heavily on contingent labor. As negotiations continue, faculty and staff compensation—along with job security and workload terms—will likely remain a key determinant of campus labor stability.