We’re (Almost) Starting Bargaining! 3/14 at 12:30 PM
Exciting news: this week in Workplace Council (Mar 6), we voted to go ahead and have our first bargaining session with Columbia HR on March 14 at 1:30 PM. Come through to discuss this and other urgent matters in our unit at our General Body Meeting on Tuesday, March 11 at 6 PM in the International Affairs Building Room 406 and on Zoom. RSVP here for our first bargaining session, and keep reading for more information on the start of bargaining.
If you’ve been following our updates, you may remember that Columbia has still not agreed to give us hybrid bargaining.
This is what they’ve agreed to so far:
The University has proposed a space that can only seat up to 100 in-person observers.
Hybrid caucusing: During breaks in bargaining where we meet without admin present to talk, we will be able to meet with all workers over Zoom. This means that if you can’t make it in person, you won’t be able to watch bargaining. You should hear what the university has to say for yourself, not secondhand.
Our bylaws prevent us from bargaining without our membership, and we don’t plan on bargaining without you.
Here’s s a bit more information on why opening bargaining matters and how our first session fits into our larger contract campaign:
Why are we fighting for open bargaining? In the face of the Trump administration’s unprecedented crackdown on research, higher education and free speech, it is urgent that we are in a position to throw our full power behind our bargaining. Columbia wants to strike deals behind closed doors, we want you to see exactly what they say to our demands. We are stronger when all of us - not just 100 people - can participate and pressure CU administration to negotiate fairly. Open, hybrid bargaining is the standard for many contract negotiations in higher education and other workplaces. It is abnormal for Columbia to refuse this basic request.
What will happen at the first Bargaining Session? The first meeting is an opportunity to shape what bargaining will look like through opening statements, establishing ground rules, and—most importantly—displaying the strength of our community that is behind negotiations. We will not be discussing contract articles at the initial meeting, but the first meeting is essential for building power and establishing an open framework through which we will win the contract we deserve.
Why is it important for me to come to the first Bargaining Session? A strong show of force from our membership—from you—will let the University know hybrid bargaining is necessary for functional negotiations. Having strong turnout both in person and on Zoom will illustrate that limited capacity for in-person observers won’t fly, and will help us win fully open bargaining, giving us more leverage to win our first demands, including better benefits packages and guarantees to protect our fellow student workers from deportation.
What are the next steps for contract articles? Tomorrow, the poll on our initial bargaining positions will close, formalizing the initial demands we will be bringing to negotiations that have been developed by members in working groups for the last several months. In the coming weeks, the topics we have voted to bring to the table first—healthcare, international students rights (including protection against ICE), benefits, transitional funding, and AI—will be hosting townhalls and working group meetings to finalize the contract language we will bring to the table in future bargaining sessions, based on the winning demands from the poll. Stay tuned for the results of the poll, and more details on which meetings to attend to get involved in finalizing contract language!
Given the circumstances, we know there is more at stake than simply the terms of our negotiations with Columbia. The refusal to bargain in a fully transparent manner is connected to the broader repression of students and workers, and Columbia’s focus on protecting the interests of the upper administration and the board over accountability to the broader community. We need Columbia to take strong and decisive action in defense of students and workers. This is essential to our strategy to win the dignified workplace we deserve.
RSVP here for our first bargaining session! We will meet up at Dear Mama Cafe (Jerome L. Green Science Center) around 12:30pm so we can touch base and walk over together. Observers should plan to be present until approximately 3:00 pm. The room is Studebaker Building (Room 469), 615 W 131st Street, New York, NY 10027.
Solidarity Forever,
The Bargaining Committee
Johnson Dalmieda (he/him), PhD student in Chemistry
Dylan Felt (she/her), PhD student in Sociomedical Sciences
Adithya Gungi (they/them), PhD student in Physics
James Heard (he/him), PhD student in Architecture
Aaron Kidane (he/him), PhD student in Physiology and Cellular Biophysics
Conlan Olson (they/them), PhD student in Computer Science
Vayne Ong (she/her), PhD student in History
Sohum Pal (he/they), JD-PhD student in History
Jonathan Pankauski, PhD student in Mechanical Engineering
Kayla Pham (she/her), BA student in Chemistry and Human Rights
Frank Tavares (they/she), PhD student in English and Comparative Literature
Ari (they/them), BA student in Ethnicity & Race Studies and English