[ACTION REQUIRED] Sign the Petition + Contract Negotiation Overview + How do we win?

The quick version: it’s been almost two months of contract negotiations with 10 bargaining sessions – so let’s take a step back, see where we stand and how we fight back to win a fair contract! 💥💥💥

Overall, Columbia’s Administration has been dismissive on non-economic issues, and insulting on compensation (details below). We need to show our strength and unity: our work makes Columbia work! As part of this, we are currently collecting signatures in support of our core demands to be delivered to the President and Trustees?

Can you sign and share our petition in support of our core demands?

What Can You Do Right Now?

Get all of your co-workers in your lab or your department to sign the petition!
Be visibly supportive! Put up a poster on your floor or on your bench. Wear a union pin or a union t-shirt. Need any of the above? Contact us!
Engage your co-workers in conversation about what we can do to support bargaining and fight back.
Join Slack for updates and more conversation.

Where Do Negotiations Stand?

What we demand:
- Significant raises in salaries and benefits, which must include institutional support for housing, childcare, and international workers.
- Recognition of Postdoctoral Fellows as employees, not independent contractors (as per NIH policy).
- Clear and transparent protections against workplace harassment, fair guidelines for authorship and intellectual property and in support of equity and inclusion.
Columbia Admin has offered:
- An updated minimum salary of $63,000 for Postdocs, and $69,405 for ARSs with 2.5% annual increases planned for 5 years. The overwhelming majority of us will see NO financial benefit from their proposals!
- A pay cut when considering inflation — an insulting economic offer.
- A rejection of ALL of our main non-economic demands
What we won: Relocation costs (proposed at $1500), a Hardship Fund to cover medical emergencies (proposed at $250k for a period of 5 years — a starting offer but not enough), and they retracted language on Union Dues (they removed their proposal for an open shop).
Where we moved: On vacations (a cap at 23 days for unused paid days of vacation for postdocs with less than 3 years at CU), on International Workers (a committee with Admin and Union representatives that will meet 3 times a year to discuss international worker issues).

Do you want CU’s offer of an effective pay cut – or do we fight for a real raise?

During our last contract we won a minimum salary of $60k for postdocs and $66k for ARSs. Based on inflation, in today’s prices our minimums should be $70k and $78k, respectively.
Other Universities in the area are increasing salaries (MSK, Princeton, Yale, MIT, Rockefeller, St. Jude’s and HHMI — some are using institutional money, not just grants).
The university has the resources to support us, with more than $900 million in operating cash flows a year, and over $8 Billion unrestricted funds in the endowment (read the University financial report here).

What will it take to win a real raise? We need to UNITE and FIGHT BACK! Talk to your co-workers about what they are willing to do. Send us feedback by email or on Slack.