Our Demands

According to the UAW constitution, a two-thirds majority by secret ballot of those voting is required to authorize a strike.

In 2020, we held an SAV with 1833 Yes votes out of 1910 total votes. In 2021, after one bargaining session, we held an SAV with 1804 yes votes out of 2038 total votes.

Opening an SAV is not the same as voting for a strike to start — an SAV is an acknowledgment that a strike may be necessary, and states our unit’s intention to go on strike. It serves as a strike threat and indicates our readiness to strike. We will collectively decide when we will go on strike.

Typically, the following steps would take place before a strike begins:

• Members vote whether to initiate an SAV. If they vote to initiate the SAV, members will also decide the SAV start and end dates – it’s up to us. SAV results will be announced by email and text

• Ahead of, during, and after an SAV, members meet with their departments to discuss potential strike leverage, answer questions, assess strike readiness and interest, and come up with proposals around tactics, timelines, and organizing ideas that can be discussed with a wider group

• We expect to continue bargaining with the University after voting to authorize a strike, and while striking

• Whenever we are ready, members will vote to issue a strike deadline. This is a widely publicized warning to the University that if they do not concede to our demands, we will go on strike by the date of the deadline

• If the University does not concede by the strike deadline, members will be expected to go on strike. Our union includes all student workers who perform instructional and research labor, but how long a strike lasts and the demands for which we continue a strike are solely determined by members. We discuss these questions at department meetings and make these decisions at GBMs and union-wide polls

In SWC, members vote when to end a strike. A strike lasts only as long as our members wish to stay on strike – no more, no less.

Striking means collectively withholding labor. In the UAW, strikes are governed by the UAW Constitution, including Articles 12, 16 and 50. We will add more information that is specific to our union local if we vote to authorize a strike.

For now, here’s what you need to know. (Note that we have a separate section on strike pay below.)

• Striking means withholding labor. This may look different in different departments, especially depending on whether you’re providing teaching or research labor

• Our bylaws mandate that we hold weekly strike votes beginning the first week of a strike to determine whether to remain on strike. This means that we will not agree ahead of time on how long to strike – we will decide each week whether to continue

• You are expected to withhold teaching or research labor only, meaning you do not necessarily need to strike on all labor for the University. For example, grading, working in the writing center, or acting as rapporteur for a University Seminar are all examples of labor you are expected to strike on. Jobs at the circulation desk at the library or federal work study programs do not need to be struck on because they are not teaching or research labor

• In the past, we have told student workers in labs that they should continue working on their dissertations but stop other lab work, for example, by ceasing to work on new grant applications. However, because the boundary between dissertation research and research for your PI is fuzzy, many members are re-evaluating this guidance; it is possible each lab will come up with their own guidelines on which labor to withhold. How we can effectively strike on research labor is an ongoing conversation, and we encourage you to discuss this in your departments. You can participate in the decision-making process around this question at Workplace Councils and GBMs

• During the last strike, we held one picket each weekday, with pickets rotating across Columbia campuses, and members were asked to sign up for a couple picketing shifts a week or request a no-questions-asked waiver to access the strike fund. Most unions schedule pickets to last 2-4 hours and ask members to take shifts

• In 2021, the University made very few concessions until the eighth week of our ten-week strike. We won many of our core demands in the last week of the strike. It is possible we will need to strike for a similar length of time or longer

Many members understandably wish to know how striking will affect their finances. The good news is that you will have access to multiple forms of financial support during a strike, and we do not expect most or any members to experience any financial loss.

Student workers on strike have three main income sources: UAW strike pay, Unemployment Insurance, and the Student Worker Aid Collective strike fund. In addition, we expect that striking workers will receive backpay from Columbia as a condition for our signing a collective bargaining agreement. For this reason, it is possible that you will actually make more by striking than by working for Columbia.

UAW Strike Pay

• The UAW International provides weekly strike pay (“strike assistance”) to members in good standing who are currently on Columbia’s payroll. UAW strike pay is $500 per week ($100 per weekday). Members begin earning strike pay on day one of the strike. (Note that strike pay is higher than it was in 2021, and begins earlier.)

• UAW strike pay is double for the weeks before Thanksgiving and Christmas.

• To receive weekly UAW strike pay, you will be asked to submit a form at the start of the strike. Most likely, no further action will be required.

Unemployment Insurance

• New York State recently changed the law so that striking workers can receive Unemployment Insurance, beginning on day eight of a strike. The amount you receive will vary depending on your income from Columbia prior to going on strike. We will share an update on the exact pay amounts for student workers on standard nine- and twelve-month appointments if we vote to authorize a strike. However, based on an Unemployment Insurance check shared by a student worker on a nine-month appointment, you can expect the amount to be around $450 a week. Note that student workers on F1 visas are not eligible to receive Unemployment Insurance.

• This means that student workers who are not on F1 visas will automatically receive pay that is approximately equal to, or slightly above, their pay from Columbia University. Some student workers will make more by striking than by working for the University, even without backpay. Students on F1 visas can make up the difference through the SWAC strike fund (see below).

Student Worker Aid Collective Strike Fund

• The Student Worker Aid Collective (SWAC) operates an independent strike fund open to all student workers. In 2021, the strike fund raised over $100,000 for striking workers.

• Strike funds disbursed by SWAC will most likely require weekly or biweekly attestation and requests. Details will be worked out by SWAC if/when we go on strike. SWAC will likely prioritize students who are not eligible for Unemployment Insurance, but depending on the size of the strike fund and the duration of a strike, it is likely everyone will receive their full normal pay amount.

Additional details

• You are not required to return strike pay once we end the strike or sign a collective bargaining agreement with the University. Once it’s in your bank account, it’s yours.

• In addition, most unions will not sign a collective bargaining agreement until their employer agrees to provide backpay for any lost wages. You may be required to pay back Unemployment Insurance if you receive backpay.

• In 2021, every striking worker who requested backpay and completed make-up work received the full total of their garnished wages on top of the strike pay they already received.

Between UAW strike pay, Unemployment Insurance, and the SWAC strike fund, we expect most workers on strike will face little or no financial hardship by striking.