We are writing to you with some Hardship Fund updates. We have achieved so much together as a union, yet uncertainties remain. It is important for us to acknowledge the emotional and material hardship these uncertainties bring - it is both a happy and stressful time.

We got a tentative agreement!

Last night, we came within inches of making an agreement with the University on a package. The University accepted our supposal of having full NLRB recognition and open shop with a four year contract duration. However, the University balked at our proposal to restore lost pay with make-up work, including withheld stipends.

Thank you to everyone who completed our registration hold form last week, it yielded a lot of important information. We know that these are stressful times for all of us, and it is important to acknowledge the extra hardship that some of us are experiencing. The hardship fund, while not able to cover everyone’s needs in full, remains committed to prioritizing allocations based on need and urgency and our fundraising efforts are ongoing. We even started the week with a successful Twitch fundraiser where we raised over $4,000 thanks to the generosity of many streamers and supporters in the Twitch community and beyond.

For those who missed it, we spent our NYE with the university back at the bargaining table. We began by offering Columbia a comprehensive package with significant movement in the key areas of union security and duration. After considering our offer, Columbia responded by presenting us with an option of two different supposals connecting union security and recognition…

Tonight’s bargaining session was brief, but informative. We asked probing questions that brought us closer to understanding the university’s resistance to our latest counter proposal.

Yesterday we returned to the mediation table, this time just with our mediator, Kevin. We reminded Kevin that we made substantial moves last week, meeting the university on almost every core issue with the exception of recognition. We will not compromise on full recognition of our unit. It is the university’s turn to make a move in response to our latest proposal and we hope we can have a substantive conversation about the issues that divide us in another joint session.

Tomorrow we return to the mediation table meeting primarily with Kevin at 4:30pm with a caucus at 4pm. Due to the timing of this session, our GBM will be at 5pm on Wednesday this week.

Last night we had a mediation marathon with the university, mediating from 4:00pm-11:30pm. The university came prepared with a counter-proposal. The package includes: post-doc language for real neutral arbitration, pay parity for Social Work and Mailman in year 1, stop the clock for parents, and 75% dental premiums for all PhD students (both on and off appointment). Crucially, Columbia left out the core demand for full recognition as defined by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which they agreed to in 2018. After several hours in caucus and in working groups, we voted on how to proceed, opting to go all in on recognition.

Yesterday’s mediation session was efficient, productive, and insightful. After a whirlwind weekend full of GBMs and working group meetings, we came to the session with a long list of questions for the University in the hopes that the answers would guide our next package drop. We had an engaging 2 ½ hours primarily talking directly with Deans Alonso and Kachani and left the session feeling optimistic.

Happy Monday! We hope you’re all staying safe, healthy, and warm. We have another thrilling week ahead as we traverse weeks 7 and 8 of our strike. We will be holding a joint session with the administration today from 10AM to 1PM. Join our caucus at 9:30AM.

Today we met with our mediator, Kevin, for the second time this week, and went over the ideas for movement we voted on in a caucus yesterday. We learned that Kevin has not met with the University, despite the fact that faculty at today’s town hall indicated that the University told them they are willing to continue bargaining. We insisted that if Kevin is not going to communicate our questions and movement to the University, we will do it ourselves in a joint session.

Our mediator had an emergency issue so mediation today is cancelled and rescheduled for tomorrow at 1pm, with caucus starting at 11am. There will be a break from 12-1pm for panelists to attend the Faculty Town Hall and for the rest of us to have a lunch break!

On Saturday, December 11th, we held a poll assessing the satisfaction of student workers with the current contract proposed by the University on December 9th, along with an evaluation of possible forms of escalation. In the poll, student workers were asked to rate each of the major areas of the contract still under dispute on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 indicating something abysmal and completely unacceptable, and 4 indicating a contract provision acceptable as is. Any ranking under 4 indicates that the language is not acceptable as it stands and must be improved. The aggregate results of these rankings by the unit are collated into a table below.

We hope you had a restful weekend and thank you again for those who came out to our General Body Meeting on Saturday night. It was an informative meeting and we will continue our conversations in caucuses and in Wednesday’s GBM as well.

What a week we’ve had! Not only did we have an historic campus-wide shutdown as we entered our 6th week on strike, we’ve received record breaking contributions to our Hardship Fund — over $26.5k since yesterday, and $50k in the last week — from comrades across the globe! Yesterday saw another article in the New York Times on the University’s retaliation efforts, and also in the Guardian. Our Round 3 disbursements will match the generosity that our supporters have shown us so please don’t be shy, apply to the Hardship Fund and we will help you get your needs met. Round 3 closes Friday (tomorrow) at 11:59pm so get your application in ASAP (apply here) and disbursements will go out around December 14th.

During Wednesday’s mediation session, the university team presented a revised proposal on arbitration based on Harvard’s recently adopted agreement with its student workers. We expressed our dissatisfaction with the EOAA and with the limitations imposed on seeking third party neutral arbitration in the university’s recent proposal. Nevertheless, we agreed to consider the university’s priorities and return with a counter proposal.

During Wednesday’s mediation session, the university team presented a revised proposal on arbitration based on Harvard’s recently adopted agreement with its student workers. We expressed our dissatisfaction with the EOAA and with the limitations imposed on seeking third party neutral arbitration in the university’s recent proposal. Nevertheless, we agreed to consider the university’s priorities and return with a counter proposal.

Tonight we received an email from HR threatening to withhold some appointment letters for the Spring semester if we do not end our strike by December 10th. Make no mistake that this threat is a form of retaliation and intended to break the power of our strike. This threat is illegal, and it demonstrates that the university is bargaining in bad faith. It also shows that our strike is working and the university is desperate to end it.