Bargaining sessions May 9th & May 11th + Columbia’s Finances + Correction!!

🔥 Bargaining Sessions Tuesday and Thursday next week!!! 🔥

Columbia’s administration has confirmed our 3rd and 4th Bargaining Sessions:

Tuesday, May 9^th, 10am at Studebaker (Room 469)
Thursday, May 11^th, 10am at Hammer (Room LL204/LL207)

Join the sessions! Any of us can support the Bargaining Committee by showing up in person. We will show Columbia that we are united in asking for a fair Union Contract and better working conditions.

At the front of each bargaining location, members of the Organizing Committee will have a table with t-shirts, pins, and flyers! Meet at the table before 10am to express solidarity and team spirit! Join the bargaining session for as long as your time permits!

The Financial Condition of Columbia University:

CPW members, jointly with the Columbia chapter of the American Association of University Professors, funded a thorough report of Columbia’s finances based on publicly available reports and tax documents. On Tuesday May 2nd, Professor Howard Bunsis presented his report to over 100 postdocs, faculty, staff, and other members of our community. This is something that you do not want to miss! Spare a moment to read the report here.

What does the Administration say on the bargaining table?

“There is not a single dollar of unrestricted money in Columbia’s budget.” Their position is that there is no money available for postdocs/ARS and our research outside grants.

What do the numbers say?

Columbia has $18.4 Billion in net assets. True unrestricted reserves are about $8 Billion!
The operating cash flow for 2022 was $911 Million! That is cash coming in minus cash going out in one year!
$1.2 Billion of revenue a year comes from public funding for research, from grants. That is money our work brings in! This reflects $900M in direct funding, and $300M in indirects.
The total research spending at Columbia in 2022 was $812 Million. Only two thirds of the research funding feeds back into research! Are they profiting out of our research while we can’t afford the bills?

It doesn’t add up! Columbia is investing in a lot of assets, but not in research. Why do they stifle our potential to do better research, when they can afford to provide us with quality housing, childcare and compensation?

At the bargaining table, the Administration said that housing problems would cost them $16M, which is an insignificant fraction of their annual cash flows.

We asserted on the bargaining table: Our research will bring more money in grants for Columbia if only they were to invest in us. We are not a zero sum game, we are not just a line on the budget. Our work greases the wheels of research at Columbia.

CORRECTION:

In yesterday’s debrief email we meant to include the negotiations on International Employee issues. Here is the amended version/update:

During the bargaining session on May 3rd, our Contract’s language on : International Employees was discussed:

We explained that having longer lasting visas and correctly applied tax treaties would save us time, as it could offset renewal fees and exempt us from mandatory travel requirements, amongst other benefits.
The CU admin dismissed us, saying that they do not want to include this in the contract, and that they already take excellent care of internationals!