Yes. postdocs and ARSs perform critical work every day. Additionally, a strike would be highly visible, showing the solidarity of thousands of workers and attracting media attention and political support for our right to fair working conditions. Members of other
Isn’t going on strike only hurting ourselves because our research would suffer?
While participating in a strike will require all of us to make sacrifices, this action also gives postdocs and ARSs the collective power to end Columbia’s unlawful actions that are aimed at undermining our union and preventing contract agreements on
If we strike, would we have support from the broader community?
Yes, and support is growing! The Columbia chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has written this statement to the Provost supporting our negotiations. Faculty at Columbia are signing in to this letter as well. We also got
How have strikes impacted other postdoc/ARSs contract negotiations?
The short answer is a lot. Specific impacts include: At the University of Washington, the union for Academic Student Employees (ASEs), Postdocs and Research Scientists-UAW 4121 reached an agreement with the administration after going on a weeklong strike. The agreement
If we strike, will advance notice be provided?
Yes. We have already sent a message to faculty informing them of how they can help prevent a potential strike, and have announced our strike deadline publicly. We may not know until the end of the day of our final