Package Bargaining and Organizing for a Raise
Over 130 people joined our Rally for a Living Wage and marched together to the November 10 bargaining session. At the bargaining table, we presented a complete package combining our non-economic and economic proposals. The University presented its own non-economic package, but once again brought no written counter on compensation. Join the Organizing Committee this Friday, November 13, at noon EST on Zoom to plan our next steps—and bring a coworker.
A year and a half into bargaining, Columbia is still dragging its feet on compensation while workers struggle to make ends meet. The University insists we must settle non-economic articles before discussing pay, even though it has already made economic proposals on Benefits and Childcare. We have moved toward the University article after article, including lowering our proposed annual base salary to $68,000 at the last session. Columbia still refuses to put a compensation counter on the table. We need to build the pressure to change that.
Our package included revisions to Nondiscrimination and Harassment (NDH), Appointments, Union Activity/Access, and Health and Safety. We also proposed withdrawing Union Leave and Artificial Intelligence in exchange for movement elsewhere in the package. All changes, including these proposed withdrawals, were made in the context of the whole package and are therefore not permanent. In future sessions, we can still choose to deliver a different package with a different set of changes. We did not reach any new agreements at this session.
The University’s non-economic package largely repeated its existing proposals, with a few changes, including a proposed contract expiration in 2030. It also proposed a side letter under which both parties would withdraw all pending unfair labor practice (ULP) charges. We challenged its refusal to bring a compensation counter while asking us to settle other parts of the contract.
Non-Citizens: We proposed movement on Nondiscrimination and Harassment and Health and Safety in exchange for movement on Sections 10 and 11 of Non-Citizens. Our proposed language would prohibit the University from releasing information on international students to federal authorities without a judicial warrant and require it to request that federal agents comply with legal requirements before interrogating, searching, or seizing a student employee or their property.
Nondiscrimination and Harassment
Conditional on movement on Non-Citizens, we proposed accepting the University’s language in Section 8, with an additional link to resources, and withdrawing Section 10 on lactation accommodations and Section 12 on free gender expression.
On disability accommodations, we explained that workers are not always told about their accommodation options before starting work, affecting their first weeks on the job. The University said we were solving “a problem that does not exist” and argued it has no duty to bargain over anything before a worker’s first day. We pointed out that its own proposals also address things that happen before someone starts work.
Health and Safety
We proposed withdrawing Section 10 on campus access.
Appointments and Academic Freedom
As part of the package, we proposed returning to existing contract language in Section 7 and withdrawing our Artificial Intelligence article in exchange for movement on Section 6 of Appointments and our Academic Freedom article.
Union Activity/Access
In Section 3, we separated the language on officers and stewards to address the University’s concerns about stewards not being members of the bargaining unit.
In Section 4, we proposed specifying one membership meeting per month in response to the University’s concerns about a “reasonable” number of meetings.
In Section 6, we adopted some of the University’s language about timelines for providing worker information, including its summer timeline. We specified that the 40-day and July 15 timelines would apply to FERPA-protected information, while non-FERPA-protected information would remain subject to a 20-day timeline.
Copies of these articles can be found in the Bargaining Proposal Tracker.
Compensation: Workers Need a Raise, Right Now
We asked the University an obvious question: how could we agree to a contract running through 2030 without knowing what our pay would be? Members need to assess the contract as a whole, including both workplace protections and compensation.
The University pointed to the two 3% raises it has unilaterally implemented since our contract expired. Those raises have not kept up with inflation: our real wages have fallen about 6% since we won our contract in 2022. When we raised workers’ financial struggles, the University told us we were “far better off” than the postdocs.
Comparing us to other underpaid workers does little to address our need for a living wage. Student workers need to pay rent, buy groceries, and live with dignity. Our teaching and research keep Columbia running, and we need compensation that allows us to keep doing that work.
We have made substantial movement at the table. Columbia’s response is still no written compensation counter. Workers cannot keep waiting while our real wages fall. Tuesday’s rally showed that members are ready to fight for a raise. Now we need to turn that turnout into sustained pressure.
Take action: Join the Organizing Committee any Friday at noon EST on Zoom. We’ll plan how to organize more coworkers and pressure Columbia to bring a compensation counter. No prior organizing experience is needed. Come ready to help, invite a coworker, and help build the power we need to win a living wage.