Our Demands
We maintain a tracker that shows all our proposals and Columbia’s responses. You can read the full text of our articles on the proposal tracker, and read summaries of select articles in the drop-down menu below.
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Increased wages commensurate with cost of living + 20% savings that allows workers financial stability.
Pay parity between 9 and 12-month appointments
Cost of Living Adjustment which ensures that yearly wage increases meet or exceed inflation.
A transparent and regular pay schedule
Matching contributions for retirement
See our full list of compensation demands and learn about the reasoning behind them.
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Protections for International Student Workers
Minimal-legal sharing: Ensure that international student information is not shared with the Department of Homeland Security beyond what is legally required
Re-establish Columbia as a “Sanctuary Campus”
Protect international student jobs and do everything possible to help international students facing issues entering the US or facing deportation threats
Academic continuity: In the case that an international student cannot stay in the US, Columbia will make accommodations to ensure that they are still able to complete their work and work towards their degree
Learn more about our demands and the reasoning behind them.
Read the contract article (for an explanation about what the red text means, see here).
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Federal agencies and NYPD units have been identified as threats to public safety, with the SRG frequently being considered by criminal defense attorneys across the city as a threat to public safety, particularly for individuals of color. Allowing NYPD and DHS agents to access campus poses a significant risk for the safety of all workers and students, with emergency medical services being denied to students who have been severely injured by both public safety and NYPD on campus.
Cooperation with federal agencies has been evident in the disenrollment of students.
Surveillance data has been misused in disciplinary hearings, frequently misidentifying individuals based on building swipes and campus CCTV footage. This poses a significant risk to student workers: even an accusation of a rules-of-conduct violation can prevent a student from accessing their transcript or registering for courses, and sanctions for disciplinary misconduct can be as severe as suspension, putting student-worker status at risk.
Additionally, recent campus measures have arbitrarily closed entrances and academic buildings without a 24-hour notice and often at evening hours. This poses a significant inconvenience to workers who have time-sensitive work in research labs.
See our full list of health & safety demands and learn about the reasoning behind them.
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Adding caregiver status, transgender identity as protected classes; expanding the definition of disabilities to include intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, and mental health disorders
Shorter timelines for workers to secure accommodations from the Office of Disability Services
Adjustment of timelines to address and resolve complaints to hold OIE accountable
Earlier access to neutral arbitration for OIE complaints– complainants will no longer have to exhaust both the lengthy OIE process and the appeals process to access arbitration
A Power-Based Harassment article with a formalized system for reporting and resolving these issues
See our full list of demands and learn about the reasoning behind them.
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The right to teach and research the topics of our choice, and the right to speak as individuals without unreasonable discipline
Expanded intellectual and property and copyright protections, including over teaching material.
Conscientious objection by student worker originators to protect against abuses
Recognition of student workers as significant contributors or originators of scientific conceptions/inventions
See our full list of demands and learn about the reasoning behind them.
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Columbia must sever financial ties with corporations complicit in violations of international law
Full transparency on direct and indirect investments
See our full list of international law demands and learn about the reasoning behind them.
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Increases to the amount of child care subsidies for parents
16 weeks of parental leave at full pay, with the option of 36 weeks at 67% pay
Increased flexibility in scheduling and alternate teaching assignments
The ability to return early from parental leave without sacrificing leave pay
Insurance benefits during parental leave
The ability to apply to the Adoption Assistance and foster parenting program
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Union Security
Expand access to union membership to student workers in our bargaining unit through a union or agency shop, which will ensure that all workers are protected equally by the contract, receive union communications, and pay dues
Union Activity
Full access to campus for our organizers, and access to University space for meetings.
Better ways to reach out to members, including union bulletin boards and longer orientation slots
An SWC space on campus
Timely and reliable information about who is eligible to join our union
Union Leave
Allow the union up to 5 total workers to be released from research or instructional work (or take a leave of absence) in order to do labor-intensive union roles
See our full list of union rights demands and learn about the reasoning behind them.
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Relocation funds for first-years and materials reimbursements
Compensation for time spent on workplace trainings
Adequate office space for teachers and researchers
Increased vacation times and modified personal days and visa/immigration leave
Reimbursed commute fare
Electronic access to our employment files
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Don’t replace our teaching or research jobs with generative Artificial Intelligence.
Let workers choose how they want to use Artificial Intelligence to support their job duties.
Don’t use personal data or intellectual property to train AI models without worker consent.
Commit to not signing contracts with firms that violate UNESCO standards for ethical AI.
Neutral audits of University AI usage that holds them accountable to scholars