It has been a distressing few weeks for the Columbia community, especially at the Morningside campus. Since last week, Tuesday April 30th, our members have been unilaterally locked out of their lab and office spaces at Morningside campus – with hours notice and unclear communication. Some workers have regained access since Friday May 3rd, but many still lack access. These harsh impositions have forced postdocs to scramble to perform their work, especially as police and media outlets have descended on campus. To address this labor issue we need to act together.
If you have work duties necessitating access to your lab or office space, and have had your access denied at any time, or are still denied access and cannot do your work, please fill out this Google Form. In addition, the excessive screening and presence of public safety officers and NYPD officers can be intimidating. If you experience any situation that results in a hostile work environment or intimidating atmosphere, please reach out to the central account.
Now is a good time to connect with other postdocs or workers to talk about the importance of our labor rights. In line with this, the graduate student union (SWC) is organizing a rally every day from 1-2PM at West 116 and Amsterdam Ave. A group of postdocs have already committed to attending the rallies; RSVP here to join our group.
We join this rally not just to stand in solidarity with the SWC graduate and undergraduate students who have been arrested or who have had their free speech infringed upon – by standing up at this rally we are standing up for our own right to speak freely and for our own rights as workers; an attack on the rights of any of us is an attack on the rights of all of us.
These are unusual and unpredictable times, but as a collective we can protect one another from labor rights violations and stand up for the workplace and environment we deserve.
🥳Reminder: Social with postdocs/ARSs from across NYC!!!🥳
>> 05/03/2024: UAW Local 4100 social for NYC postdoctoral workers! Join us for a social, bringing together postdoctoral workers from across New York City. Please RSVP here: https://forms.gle/Gs9BN3EAPZARVmxC8
The nomination period has concluded, and we are ready to announce our new Executive Board, Joint Council, and Stewards for our Local!
The deadline to accept steward nominations closed last Monday, April 22nd at 11:59 PM EST. As all positions were unopposed, we can announce the following winners of their districts by acclamation:
SPOC Stewards
District 1: Sindhu Vangeti
District 2: Clauvis Yengo
District 3: David O’Connor
District 4: Newaz Ahmed
District 5: Maria A. Carrera
District 6: Haoyuan Li
District 7-1: Tanya Nauvel
District 7-2: Shane O’Connell
CPW Stewards
MS2: Alexa Nicolas
The deadline to accept the open executive board nominations also closed last Monday, April 22nd at 11:59 PM EST. As all positions were unopposed, we can announce the following winners of their positions by acclamation:
President: Andrea Joseph
Recording Secretary: Natalia Ferressini
Trustee: Elza Rechtman
Guide: Andrew Little
Columbia Member at Large: Elsy El Khoury
Mount Sinai Member at Large: Paola Bianchimano
The deadline to accept Joint Council nominations also closed last Monday, April 22nd at 11:59 PM EST. As all positions were unopposed, we can announce the following winners of their positions by acclamation:
Mount Sinai – Joint Council 1 – Unit Chair: María Ruiz Ortega
Columbia Joint Council 1 – Unit Chair: Sherida de Leeuw
Columbia Joint Council 3 – Head Steward: Stefano Cataldi
Yesterday was a turbulent day at the Morningside campus, with over 100 students arrested on campus by NYPD. Many of us witnessed the arrests either in person while at work, or through the media. Academia, and Columbia in particular, has a storied past with protests. Having NYPD on campus and arresting peaceful protesters is a clear break from past practice, and could present workplace safety issues.
We are not currently aware of any Local 4100 members who were directly involved in the arrests – if you or anyone you know in the unit are affected by these events, you can reach out (postdocunion@uaw4100.org) if you require representation by the union. We want to point out that we have a standing Human Rights committee, any member is welcome to join this committee, please reach out if you’re interested.
If you have any doubts, questions or would like to talk please don’t hesitate to contact us.
In solidarity,
Columbia Postdoctoral Workers Executive Board (Interim) & Organizing Committee
This is a reminder that the deadline to accept nomination for a position as steward or Executive Board member is next Monday, 04/22 at 11:59PM EST.
If you are accepting nomination for the vacant steward or Executive Board positions, please submit your acceptance to the CPW-UAW Elections Committee by emailing cpwuawelections@gmail.com by April 22nd at 11:59pm EST (before midnight).
As mentioned in our previous membership meeting, we are announcing the opening of elections for Local 4100 executive board positions, Joint Council positions, and steward positions, including positions across both units (Columbia and Mount Sinai). Please see below for the open positions and guidelines. You can send your nomination and candidate statement to the following address: cpwuawelections@gmail.com
Please do not hesitate to contact us (cpwuawelections@gmail.com) with any questions regarding this election. We hope you will be interested in running for one of the open positions.
In solidarity,
UAW Local 4100 Elections Committee
Nominations are hereby declared open on April 8th, 2024 for the UAW Local 4100 Stewards (13 positions), Joint Council (6 positions) and Executive Board (6 positions).
The following positions are open (see below for a detailed description of roles):
Mount Sinai – Joint Council 2 – Unit Recording Secretary
Columbia Joint Council 1 – Unit Chair
Columbia Joint Council 2 – Unit Recording Secretary
Columbia Joint Council 3 – Head Steward
Columbia Joint Council 4 – Head Steward
The following Local 4100 Executive Board positions are open:
President
Recording Secretary
Trustee
Guide
Columbia Member at Large
Mount Sinai Member at Large
All unit members having signed a Local 4100 membership card and meeting the eligibility criteria, as outlined in Article 15 of the UAW Local 4100 bylaws, are automatically considered nominees for positions on the Executive Board and as stewards in their respective districts. In accordance with the bylaws, eligibility requirements for candidates are as follows: candidates for the Executive Board must have maintained continuous good standing for a period of one (1) year preceding the acceptance of nomination, while candidates for the steward position must have maintained continuous good standing for a period of ninety (90) days prior to accepting nomination. As a new unit, these requirements are waived for candidates from Mount Sinai. Some positions are unit specific – listed positions above labeled as “Columbia” or “Mount Sinai” are restricted to members of that unit.
Membership Eligibility Description (per the bylaws):
Membership in this Local Union shall be extended to all employees who have at any time been under titles that come under the jurisdiction of this Local Union. Membership shall be defined as members in good standing as defined in the International Constitution.
Local 4100 has 29 steward positions, broken up into districts (22 at Columbia and 7 at Mt. Sinai), a Joint Council with proportional representation from each unit (6 members total; 4 from Columbia and 2 from Mt. Sinai), and an Executive Board across the whole local. For this election there are 12 open steward positions, 6 open Joint Council positions and 5 open executive board positions. Each district is a campus, building/s, or lab where postdoctoral academic workers are working. For every 75 workers in a district, one steward will be elected. To learn more about the responsibilities of the stewards, visit the UAW constitution (Article 45) and our Local Bylaws (Article 10).
Any eligible member in good standing who wishes to accept the nomination for one of the Executive Board or steward positions in their district must indicate their intention, in writing, including the position they wish to run for. You can only run for one position. The acceptance of your nomination in writing must be submitted no later than April 22nd, 2024 11:59 EST. Submit your acceptance to the Local 4100 UAW Elections committee by emailing cpwuawelections@gmail.com. If you have questions about which district you belong to, please reach out to the Elections committee at cpwuawelections@gmail.com.
Each candidate may write and submit a candidate statement of no more than 250 words. These statements will be posted on the Local 4100 UAW website if there are contested elections. Your mailing address, phone number, and personal email address must be included, but will not be counted toward the 250 words.
It is the responsibility of the candidate to submit the candidate statement, if they choose to have one. All candidate statements must be received by the time nominations close on April 22nd, 2024 11:59 EST.
Candidates Meeting
Following the close of nominations, all candidates in contested districts will meet with the Elections Committee via Zoom. This meeting will determine the order of names on the ballot and the method of mass communications, and address other concerns any candidate may have. This meeting will take place following the close of nominations, but before ballots are sent to members.
Election Dates, Times and Locations
In the event that the number of eligible candidates who accept nomination for the specified position do not exceed the number of vacant positions, such candidates will be deemed elected by acclamation and no election will be held.
If there are contested positions, elections will take place online from May 6th-13th. If you are a member of the union, you will receive a ballot in your email and text messages once voting begins. If you wish to participate, you will need to sign a membership card for Columbia Postdoctoral Workers or the Sinai Postdoctoral Organizing Committee.
Election Location: Online
Election Start Date: Monday, May 6th at 9:00 am EST
Election End Date: Monday, May 13th at 11:50 pm EST
A runoff election, if necessary, will be held at a future date. The details will be announced if necessary.
The following are descriptions of the open roles:
Steward: Leads organizing in their District for collective actions and contract enforcement handling for District workers.
Head Steward: Oversees Unit Stewards and represents their Unit on the Joint Council.
Unit Chair: Has general administrative responsibility for their Unit, in addition to the responsibilities of Head Steward.
Unit Recording Secretary: Maintains records for their Unit, in addition to the responsibilities of Head Steward.
President: Presides over all meetings, co-signs orders and checks, enforces the constitution, appoints needed committees and is an automatic member of all committees.
Recording Secretary: Keeps proceedings records, signs authorized treasury orders, brings to attention actionable items, keeps records of correspondence including contracts, classifications and rates and negotiation information.
Trustee: Supervise funds and property, audit or cause to semiannually audit by a CPA, make sure Financial Officers follow the rules, see that funds are deposited in the bank appropriately.
Guide: Maintains order, inspects membership receipts, makes sure only authorized members are in a given Local Union meeting.
Member-at-Large: Supports duties and activities of the Executive Board and represents their Unit on the Executive Board.
Voting is now open to ratify our Local bylaws! Make your voice heard by voting here. Voting will close during tonight’s membership meeting, around 7pm, so that members can discuss our Local’s next steps.
As a reminder, the Bylaws Committee presented a proposal for Local bylaws at the membership meeting on March 21. These updated bylaws will provide the governance structure to allow democratic decision making in our Local Union. The summary slides are available here and the full text is available here. Today, there will be time for final discussion and questions regarding the proposed changes. RSVP here to attend in-person or on Zoom.
At yesterday’s membership meeting, the Bylaws Committee presented a final proposal for Local bylaws incorporating feedback after a period of open consultation. A final draft of the proposed bylaws is available here, and summary slides are available here.
There will be a special membership meeting in two weeks, on Thursday, April 4 at 6:30 pm, to vote to approve the bylaws – come and make your voice heard!.
Since we recently voted to join forces with Mt. Sinai postdoctoral workers and amalgamate under the same local, we will need new structures for our joint governance. These updated bylaws will provide the governance structure to allow democratic decision making in our Local Union and ensure the rights of union members in that structure.
Our Union Local now consists of two Units, one at Columbia (CPW) and one at Mt. Sinai (SPOC). Some highlights of the proposed bylaws:
The membership remains highest authority of the Local Union
The Joint Council will now be the next-highest authority:
Proportional representation by unit membership
Includes the eBoard + Head Stewards representing each Unit (1 Head Steward per 200 members)
The Executive Board is the next-highest authority: we introduce 1 additional Member-At-Large per Unit.
All major decisions affecting the Local Union must be made by membership, not only the Joint Council or Executive Board
Local Membership meetings will be held at least once every 4 months, with more regular Unit Meetings for Columbia Postdoctoral Workers in between (our monthly meetings).
You can read the complete proposed bylaws here. The new bylaws will be voted in the special meeting on April 4th.
If you have any questions or want to discuss the proposed bylaws feel free to contact us.
Since we recently voted to join forces with Mt. Sinai postdoctoral workers and amalgamate under the same local, we will need new structures for our joint governance. The Bylaws will provide the democratic governance structure for our amalgamated union and establish the rights of union members in that structure.
A final draft of the proposed bylaw amendments is available here. The Bylaws committee met yesterday to discuss and incorporate suggestions submitted during the 6-day open consultation and feedback period. Join tonight for a final discussion!
Some topics that we will touch on:
How many representatives will Columbia and Mt. Sinai postdocs/ARSs have in the governing body of our local (Joint Council)?
How often will we have joint Membership meetings across both Columbia and Mt. Sinai?
How will Columbia postdocs/ARSs remain in control of bargaining their own contracts and deciding on issues specific to our workplace?
How will we ensure democracy, transparency and accountability in a Local with multiple groups of workers from different Universities?
Updates:
As previously mentioned, our staff member is part of a union representing other UAW international and local staff. Bargaining is ongoing (see our bargaining tracker and their demands HERE), for a contract that will cover our Local’s staff, meaning our Local is on the ‘management’ side of this process.
We will give a brief update of the bargaining, and report progress on hiring a legal counsel to advise us.
We will answer questions and have an open discussion about the proposed changes. The new bylaws will be voted in a special meeting on April 4th.
This is a reminder that we will be holding a membership meeting next Thursday, 03/21 at 6:30pm with hybrid and in person options. It will be our first membership meeting as an amalgamated local! Joining postdoctoral researchers at both Columbia and Mt. Sinai.
As the primary agenda item, the Bylaws Committee will present recommendations for new bylaws for our Local Union as they relate to new structures for our joint governance between Columbia and Mt. Sinai postdoctoral workers. We will also answer questions and open discussion with members. The Bylaws will provide the democratic governance structure for our amalgamated union and establish the rights of union members in that structure.
A working draft of our bylaws is now available here.
With this email we would like to inform you that the first Hardship Fund application round will open tomorrow March 1st.
Please check out the Hardship Support Fund website, for all the information and to apply (scroll to the bottom of the webpage).
In short, through our union negotiations, we won the hardship fund included in the last CBA in November 2023. This fund is specifically for postdocs/ARSs who are experiencing financial hardship.
You can apply for reimbursement for any accidental or unexpected medical or non-medical expenses, from bills going back to January 1st 2024.
There are no additional requirements other than being a postdoc/ARS, however, you do have to provide a copy of the bill and proof of payment (and Explanation Of Benefits for a medical reimbursement).
Each application will be reviewed by a small group of Union members and Columbia administrative workers but to the extent possible information will not be shared beyond the Review Committee.
At the end of each academic year, the Union and the Office for Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) will evaluate the utilization of the Hardship Support Fund.
Union members will be able to suggest improvements in the process to continue building on our initial victory.
The website has all the info you need, so please go check it out. If you are unsure if your expense can be applied for, just go ahead and put in an application, or email us at postdocunion@uaw4100.org. .
We won this Hardship Fund exercising our collective power during our contract campaign. We incentivized Columbia University to commit central money to support postdocs/ARSs. This victory would not have been possible without a majority of us becoming union members.
Note if you want to object to membership you still need to indicate so in the link above, and contribute a fair share fee as a condition of employment as per our contract with Columbia (Art. 25 Section 4).
Solidarity,
Your friendly local Executive Board and Organizing Committee
