Meet the Bargaining Committee

I am a third year post-doctoral research scientist in Pathology and Cell Biology at Columbia Medical center. I love being a post-doc, and I have enjoyed getting to know many members of this vibrant community over the last few years. I believe in this place and I think it can be more. As a single parent, I have faced many challenges that are best faced together and have worked to help expand and build the parenting community here at Columbia. I am exceptionally lucky in that my PI is generous, flexible and understanding. As I have met more and more of my colleagues, I have learned this is not always the case. This is part of why I feel strongly about unionization. I believe we have an opportunity to build on the efforts of our university senate and professional organizations, and now, with the union, to speak to the university with a stronger united voice. I am running for the bargaining committee because I am optimistic that we can work with the Columbia administration to negotiate a contract that will guarantee and protect fair and equitable working conditions for all of us, regardless of who our PIs are, our immigration status, or through what mechanism we are funded. I will work to increase our access to things that matter to all of us: consistent and reasonable pay increases, access to affordable housing, protections for parental leave and other basic benefits. I will advocate for more accountability and protections in the face of bad actors and workplace harassment. Most of all, I promise to listen to you and work cooperatively with the other members of the committee and the administration to negotiate a contract that reflects our highest hopes for what working at a world-class institution like Columbia should be.

My name is Steven Cook, and I am a second-year Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Biological Sciences. I have been involved with union organizing and the organizing committee for the Columbia Postdoctoral Workers (CPW-UAW) for almost my entire time at Columbia. Having grown up in a union household, and previously a member of SEIU 1199, I have a long-standing interest in unionization and workers’ rights. I strongly believe that by showing collective power through CPW-UAW at Columbia, we can help to improve the working conditions for all postdocs and Associate Research Scientists/Scholars (ARSes) at Columbia.
I have spoken to hundreds of postdocs and ARSes across Columbia’s campuses, I have worked to understand the issues that need to be addressed to create a transparent contract that benefits all CPW-UAW members. There is a clear need to improve the economic (Wages, healthcare, appointment length, visa support, etc.) and non-economic (Sexual harassment, discrimination, career development, etc.) benefits offered by Columbia.
We are not alone in our fight to improve workers’ rights, both here at Columbia, and nationally. I will work my hardest to represent the interests of all CPW-UAW members, and to directly empower our postdoc/ARS workforce.

I’m a third-year postdoc in cognitive neuroscience in my first year at Columbia. I got involved with the union because I believe that better working conditions for postdocs and ARSs would be better for science and academia as a whole. All postdocs and ARSs deserve a living wage, more affordable health care and child care, and retirement benefits. The less we have to worry about having basic needs met, the better we can retain talent and focus on research.
I’ve talked to postdocs and ARSs in every lab at Manhattanville to learn more about their experiences and priorities. I worked hard to turn out the union vote, calling workers, participating in town halls, and speaking publicly in support of the union. Most recently, I organized and facilitated the union’s first town hall on the Manhattanville campus.
As a member of the bargaining committee, I would take consensus building and communication with the rest of the union very seriously. As we develop and discuss our bargaining goals, you can expect detailed presentations from me about the bargaining committee’s research and analyses. And since data visualization is one of my research interests, you can expect from me sweet (and informative) plots.
The union serves as a check on Columbia’s power and gives us all a voice that Columbia can’t ignore. Let’s keep the pressure on the administration and win a strong contract that not only improves our lives, but also sets a new standard for other universities to follow.

I’m a second-year postdoc working at Columbia University Medical Center in the Department of Psychiatry. I have both a law degree from UPenn and a PhD from Columbia in neuroscience. I believe research can be an extremely rewarding endeavor if the conditions are right. Harassment, economic deprivation, and precarious work-life balance arrangements can sour your relationship to Columbia, the academy, and your field. As a member of the bargaining committee, I would focus on continuing to understand the specific needs of all union members, with an emphasis on preventing and eliminating harassment and creating financial and structural support for parents. To attain these objectives, I plan to encourage postdoc attendance at bargaining sessions, with a goal of having at least five new postdocs at each bargaining session. These bargaining sessions can be a transformative experience as postdoctoral union members get a glimpse at the real inner workings of the University. Additionally, I will put my hard-earned law degree to good use by ensuring that the claims of Columbia’s highly-paid lawyers are thoroughly challenged. I believe that my previous experiences with working in law and advocacy, as well as my familiarity with Columbia University and its employees and systems will help me be an effective change-agent for all postdoctoral union members.