We met Columbia’s bargaining team on Friday, June 12th for our 8th bargaining session. The University brought another package proposal, which included some minor economic movement and little movement elsewhere. When we asked about proposals they did not respond to in their package, including Housing, Transit, and Leaves of Absence, the University’s answer was NO – they are completely rejecting our proposals for these articles. They also insisted that we focus negotiations on compensation, despite major workplace rights like job stability and non-discrimination protections being left unaddressed by their responses.

Here is an overview of the University’s proposals – you can find the full proposals in our public bargaining tracker here:

  • On Compensation, Columbia is moving from 2% annual raises for all three years, to 2% this year and 2.5% in 2027 and 2028 – still down from the 3% anniversary raises we received in 2024 and 2025. They are proposing annual increases of the minimum postdoc/ARS salaries for 2027 and 2028, but capped at 1% per year, down from 1.5%. Minimum salaries for 2026 remain frozen at current levels.

  • Their offer on Relocation Assistance remains at $1,750, up from $1,500.

  • On the Hardship Fund, they have proposed $600,000 for three years, up from their previous proposal of $575,000. This is still very far from what is needed based on usage in the previous rounds. They are proposing to raise the disbursement amount per person per year from $5,000 to $6,000.

  • On Vacations, they moved their proposed cap on payout for unused vacation days from 10 days to 15 days.

  • On International Employees, little has changed from their previous proposal. They are continuing to insist on only 2 days of paid leave for visa renewal. They have increased the visa fee reimbursement amount from $1,250 to $1,400.

  • On Childcare, the University reintroduced the side letter from our current contract that sets the amount of the childcare FSA at $5000.

    At the session, we heard a testimonial from Manuel Beiran, a postdoc at the Zuckerman Institute and new parent, that underscores why the University should raise the childcare FSA to the new federal limit of $7500 and increase the length of parental leave. Manuel told the University’s team, “I love my work and feel fortunate to be part of Columbia’s research community, but no researcher should have to choose between having a family and maintaining financial stability. Those of us postdocs who have young children are especially vulnerable to the high cost of childcare and the loss of income that comes with parental leave.”

  • On Non-Discrimination, their response includes language on a new University procedure to deal with bullying and power-based harassment, something we have been advocating for since before our first contract. However, their proposal provides NO timeline for the process, reasserts language that would make the process for addressing discrimination and harassment longer, and no clear avenues for seeking interim measures, leaving vulnerable postdocs/ARS with insufficient protections. To emphasize why we are advocating for clear and faster timelines and better protections in the form of interim measures, we heard a testimonial from a former postdoc Yunfu Shen. Yunfu’s testimonial described the discrimination and bullying he and his wife experienced when notifying their PI that they were expecting their first child.

We presented counters on Vacations and Transit in an attempt to address some concerns raised by the University:

  • On Vacations, we included language that Employees should be encouraged to take vacation and that they will be notified of unused vacation days 60 days in advance of their appointment end date. We reasserted that there should be no additional caps on the number of unused days that can be paid out beyond the current contract language.

  • On Transit, we added that shuttle services be maintained at ‘approximately’ the current levels to address the University’s concerns that minor changes in the shuttle service might cause issues due to the nature of operation.

We will be bargaining again tomorrow, June 22nd at 2PM in the Studebaker Building and Thursday, June 25th at CUIMC. Please RSVP here to attend!

Solidarity,

Anna Yoney, Genetics and Development
CPW-UAW 4100 Bargaining Committee