Amidst the growing movement for Black Lives Matter and widespread protests against police brutality, UAW members across our region have engaged in a variety of actions and discussions regarding systemic racism. As part of these ongoing discussions, a group of rank-and-file members have organized a forum on Racism and Policing, which will be hosted by UAW Region 9A on Wednesday, September 16, at 7pm EDT. Please RSVP here to attend along with other CPW-UAW Local 4100 members.
Hear from a panel of rank and file UAW Region 9A members about their own experiences and encounters with the police, from leaders on the history of racism and policing, and a discussion on how union activism can address racism and the criminal justice system.
Panel Includes
(Moderator) Corinthia A. Carter, Staff Attorney, Legal Services NYC, UAW Local 2320
Monica C. Bell, Associate Professor of Law and Sociology, Yale University
April Sims, Secretary Treasurer, Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO
This is a reminder that the CPW-UAW Local 4100 Triennial Election to the union’s executive board will take place on September 23-24, 2020. The nomination period is now open and will close this Saturday, September 12th at 5:00 pm EDT. Follow the instructions below if you would like to accept nomination for an executive board position.
Nominations
Every CPW-UAW Local 4100 member in good standing is considered automatically nominated for the Executive Board positions below. To be in good standing, you must sign a CPW-UAW Local 4100 membership card prior to accepting nomination. Each individual can accept nomination for 1 position. In order to do so, you must submit a written nomination acceptance within the (now open) nominations period. See details below.
To accept nomination for one of the above positions, you must send your acceptance in an email to the Elections Committee at: columbiapostdocunion@gmail.com
Or by mail to:
CPW-UAW Local 4100 Elections Committee, c/o UAW Region 9A
256 W. 38th Street, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10018
Acceptances must be received by mail or email no later than September 12th at 5:00 pm EDT. The written statement of acceptance should state how the nominee wishes their name to appear on the ballot.
Candidate Statements and Campaign Rules
Members accepting nomination may also submit a candidate statement (up to 250 words) to the Elections Committee that must be received by the nomination deadline of September 12th at 5:00 pm EDT. Candidates may also submit a photo, which must have a square aspect ratio and be at least 200×200 pixels in resolution. In the case of contested positions, statements will be posted on the Local Union website no later than September 14th.
Candidates and those campaigning for them are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the rules governing elections and campaigns based on UAW and legal procedures. The Elections Committee has put together a summary of relevant campaign rules.
Voting
Voting will take place online September 23-24. Instructions for online voting will be emailed to all members before the voting and will be posted soon on www.columbiapostdocunion.org.
Election Dates, Times, and Location
If only one candidate accepts nomination for a position, that position will be uncontested and will be automatically filled. For contested positions, a candidate must receive a majority of votes to win.
Election Location: Online
Election Start Date: 8:00 AM EDT on September 23, 2020
Election End Date: 9:00 PM EDT on September 24, 2020
If no candidate receives a majority of the votes for a position, a runoff election will be held on October 5-6. Voting will take place online.
The UAW is aggressively pushing beyond the auto industry, now breaking new ground to include postdoctoral researchers from a top private university — the brightest minds from medicine, climate science, chemistry, engineering and computation.
This is not your father’s labor union.
All the new UAW members are Ph.D.s or medical doctors, and more than 400 of these researchers volunteered at Columbia University Medical Center during peak periods of COVID-19 in New York.
These new members of the UAW are not students or professors, as is often misunderstood. They have completed their undergraduate and graduate training in their areas of expertise, and will eventually run their own public or industry labs working to transform health, science and technology.
“We organized, fought for and established a more just workplace,” said Melissa McKenzie, 36, a research scientist who specializes in RNA splicing and how brain cell development is linked to autism.
“After going years with the lowest starting salaries in New York City, Columbia postdocs will now have the highest minimum salaries in the city,” she said.
Melissa McKenzie, a research scientist who specializes in RNA splicing and how brain cell development is linked to autism, is among 1,700 new UAW members at Columbia University.
The Detroit-based union known for fighting to protect pay and benefits of hourly factory workers employed by Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles just added 1,700 new researchers from Columbia University, most of them working to eradicate cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, diabetes and other diseases.
All the new UAW members are Ph.D.s or medical doctors, and more than 400 of these researchers volunteered at Columbia University Medical Center during peak periods of COVID-19 in New York.
These new members of the UAW are not students or professors, as is often misunderstood. They have completed their undergraduate and graduate training in their areas of expertise, and will eventually run their own public or industry labs working to transform health, science and technology.
“We organized, fought for and established a more just workplace,” said Melissa McKenzie, 36, a research scientist who specializes in RNA splicing and how brain cell development is linked to autism.
“After going years with the lowest starting salaries in New York City, Columbia postdocs will now have the highest minimum salaries in the city,” she said.
Protecting benefits that are already intended for researchers is as important as getting new benefits, McKenzie explained.
After a June agreement with the university, researchers voted 859-7 to ratify the Columbia Postdoctoral Workers-UAW on July 16, bringing minimum pay to $60,000 while establishing six weeks of paid parental leave and rights for international researchers.
‘Denied vacation’
A primary issue of concern, these workers say, are protections against sexual harassment and a stable work environment.
“Working conditions for a young researcher are quite unstable and inconsistent,” said Tulsi Patel, 32, a research scientist who studies brain control of motor function and its application to diseases including Lou Gehrig’s.
“How you’re treated and how your future career goes is dependent on one professor you work for. Some situations are excellent and people are treated well and paid well and others are struggling,” she said. “This is about having consistent rules. Some people will be working all the time and denied vacation. Now they can take vacation days without fearing a professor” will punish them.
Tulsi Patel, a research scientist who studies brain control of motor function and its link to diseases like Lou Gherig’s, just joined the UAW.
Patel, who relocated to Manhattan from Acworth, Georgia, said scientists are so focused on being in the lab that people rarely think about protecting pay and benefits until there’s a problem — then challenges disrupt the ability to work.
“When we tell people we’re unionizing with the UAW, it comes up as strange,” she said. “But the UAW has really been leading the charge, especially when it comes to sexual harassment protection.”
Factory inspiration
McKenzie, who is from Duxbury, Massachusetts, looked to her uncle for advice and inspiration when she organized Local 4100. He had been a union voice at Ford and a management voice at GM.
Ken McKenzie, 75, came home from Vietnam after serving in the U.S. Army and enrolled in an electrical apprentice program that landed him at a Ford plant in New Jersey. As a UAW member, he authored local rules on how overtime hours were allocated.
“I know that any unrepresented group has problems, especially if the people above in management … do not understand the problems you have,” Ken McKenzie said. “Unions are necessary and management is necessary. They really have to work together.”
When the Ford plant closed, McKenzie went on to work as a plant engineer for Becton Dickinson Pharmaceuticals, where he managed a maintenance group of skilled workers and handled contract negotiations. It’s there that he learned the importance of explaining how union demands would benefit the company.
And he shared this wisdom with his niece.
Winters in Michigan
McKenzie ended up at a GM assembly plant in Tarrytown, New York, after earning a bachelor’s degree, and supervised UAW skilled trades. Finally, he would move to the GM Warren Tech Center to work with the UAW management team responsible for standardizing and modernizing maintenance practices, he said.
Ken McKenzie, a former UAW electrician, worked first at a Ford assembly plant and later in management at GM in Warren, Michigan.
That effort, McKenzie said, may be the most successful and effective partnership between the union and management “ever in the automotive industry.”
“The effort proved that together the company and union could effect change that benefited the company financially while improving health, safety and job security for the union,” said the man who winters in Oxford, Michigan, to avoid the harsh Eaton, New Hampshire, climate.
McKenzie said he’s proud of his niece for creating UAW protections for researchers. “Unions still have a fight on their hands. But there are a lot more enlightened management people.”
Working in the auto industry shapes people forever, he said. “And the UAW has expertise in how to organize.”
Beer and poker
Higher education is one of the fastest-growing membership groups fueling the United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW).
Monthly total UAW membership hovers around 400,000 with academic workers making up an estimated 80,000, including the University of Michigan, the University of Chicago, the University of California, Harvard University, Brown University, Boston College and others.
This push to diversify is intended to create additional financial protection for all members, as everyone pays into the strike fund. New members say UAW lawyers work hard to create strong contracts, and that’s why higher education membership is spreading.
Academic workers cite the need for structural recourse to sexual harassment as a main reason to unionize, UAW officials said.
“Academic workers across the country are organizing because the challenges they face … are best addressed by standing together,” said Beverley Brakeman, UAW Region 9A director based in West Hartford, Connecticut.
‘Rigorous, respectful’
Columbia credited union negotiators for their constructive approach to “complex matters” and praised the priorities outlined by union organizers as good for the whole school.
Ira Katznelson, interim provost at Columbia, praised ratification of the union agreement.
“In the midst of a wrenching period for higher education, it is good to catch up on positive news,” he said in a letter to the university community. “This contract marks a significant milestone in the university’s relationships with postdoctoral researchers, associate research scientists and scholars. The agreement’s provisions reflect rigorous, respectful and mutually successful negotiations.”
Few may realize that the UAW represents members who work in everything from casino gaming to beer production to farm equipment.
The UAW, which has members in the U.S. and Canada, also has established a foothold at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York, McLaren Central Hospital in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, Vegas casino workers from Paris, Wynn, Bally’s, Harrah’s and Caesar’s Palace, aerospace company Triumph Aerostructures in Florida and auto parts suppliers Euclid Manufacturing in Detroit, Faurecia in Missouri and Volvo Parts in Nevada.
These are the members whose dues paid autoworkers during the 40-day strike against GM in 2019. An academic UAW member in California said at the time he was honored to support his brothers and sisters in Michigan.
Melissa McKenzie, left, and Tulsi Patel are two medical researchers who fought to organize the UAW, which will now represent 1,700 PhD members.
“We believe in the power of collective bargaining to make change,” Melissa McKenzie told the Free Press on Tuesday. “We are on the front lines of solving disease. It’s becoming increasingly hard to be a scientist. This empowers us to pursue our dreams, advance medicine and make life better for all of us.”
We are excited to present the notice for the first election of officers for our union!
The CPW-UAW Local 4100 Triennial Election to the union’s executive board will take place on September 23-24, 2020. The nomination period is now open and will close on September 12th at 5:00 pm EDT.
Nominations
Every CPW-UAW Local 4100 member in good standing is considered automatically nominated for the Executive Board positions below. To be in good standing, you must sign a CPW-UAW Local 4100 membership card prior to accepting nomination. Each individual can accept nomination for 1 position. In order to do so, you must submit a written nomination acceptance within the (now open) nominations period. See details below.
To accept nomination for one of the above positions, you must send your acceptance in an email to the Elections Committee at: columbiapostdocunion@gmail.com
Or by mail to:
CPW-UAW Local 4100 Elections Committee, c/o UAW Region 9A 256 W. 38th Street, 12th Floor New York, NY 10018
Acceptances must be received by mail or email no later than September 12th at 5:00 pm EDT. The written statement of acceptance should state how the nominee wishes their name to appear on the ballot.
Candidate Statements and Campaign Rules
Members accepting nomination may also submit a candidate statement (up to 250 words) to the Elections Committee that must be received by the nomination deadline of September 12th at 5:00 pm EDT. Candidates may also submit a photo, which must have a square aspect ratio and be at least 200×200 pixels in resolution. In the case of contested positions, statements will be posted on the Local Union website no later than September 14th.
Candidates and those campaigning for them are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the rules governing elections and campaigns based on UAW and legal procedures. The Elections Committee has put together a summary of relevant campaign rules.
Voting
Voting will take place online September 23-24. Instructions for online voting will be emailed to all members before the voting and will be posted soon on www.columbiapostdocunion.org.
Election Dates, Times, and Location
If only one candidate accepts nomination for a position, that position will be uncontested and will be automatically filled. For contested positions, a candidate must receive a majority of votes to win.
Election Location: Online Election Start Date: 8:00 AM EDT on September 23, 2020 Election End Date: 9:00 PM EDT on September 24, 2020
If no candidate receives a majority of the votes for a position, a runoff election will be held on October 5-6. Voting will take place online.
Update on Compensation Increases: As we reported recently, the University has been programming the new minimum compensation rates to take effect on the upcoming August 31 payday (September 1 for Fellows), including amounts owed retroactive to July 1. These adjustments should now be reflected online. If you do not receive the proper adjustment, please let us know immediately.
We are also continuing to work with the University to compile the information required to process the lump sum payments outlined in the contract, which we expect to be processed in September.
CPW-UAW Local 4100 Grievance Handlers Workshop: On Friday, September 4 at 12-2pm we will hold a Grievances handling workshop to discuss effective methods for enforcing our rights under the contract and as employees at Columbia. If you would like to attend please click here to RSVP.
Upcoming Local Union Officer Elections: Finally, as discussed in our Town Halls in summer, our Elections Committee will be sending the Notice for Nominations for the upcoming elections of our Executive Board early next week. The notice will include instructions on how to accept nomination, description of positions, as well as election dates and voting procedures.
Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
TODAY (Friday, 8/21) at 3pm ET! Along with UAW allies around the country, we’re co-hosting an online information and strategy session on visa/immigration issues. Please click here to register for the session.
Hear important updates about current laws and University policies, and how to stay informed and involved in the coming year. Panelists will include an immigration attorney, community leaders, and international worker union reps who will answer your questions and discuss recent examples of successful campaigns.
First time and incoming researchers/students/scholars are especially encouraged to attend!
We have several announcements related to the process of establishing our union as well as some information on an ongoing University Senate election in which associate researchers are eligible to participate. To become a member of the union, sign the new Local 4100 Membership Card.
ARS are eligible to vote in University Senate Elections, ending 8/18, 12am:
We want to remind Associate Research Scientists and Scholars that there is a Columbia University Senate election taking place for a seat that Associate Research Scientists/Scholars are eligible to vote for. The election will end Aug 18 at 12:00am (Monday midnight). As a union, it is possible for us to work with the Senate on issues that are important to our community, such as bullying, housing, and other important topics, so we encourage eligible voters to participate.
Columbia University Senate <invitations@mail.electionbuddy.com> sent eligible voters a link to vote online and access names and statement of candidates.
Elections Committee and Bylaws Committee updates:
We are pleased to announce results for the CPW-UAW Local 4100 Elections and Bylaws Committees.
ELECTIONS COMMITTEE: As of the close of the nominations period on August 14, 2020, 5pm, the number of members accepting nomination did not exceed the number of positions. Therefore, the following members are elected by acclamation as members of the CPW-UAW Local 4100 Elections Committee:
Etienne Meunier
Ben Serby
Mulugeta Abebe
Francesco Cambuli
BYLAWS COMMITTEE: The following five members have volunteered for the CPW-UAW Local 4100 Bylaws Committee:
Panos Oikonomou
Pierre-Jacques Brun
Laureline Josset
Tulsi Patel
Steven Cook
Congratulations to all of these individuals and we look forward to the next steps in building our Local Union.
Thank you for supporting CPW-UAW during the campaign to win our first contract. It is now critical that all supporters sign our new CPW-UAW Local 4100 Membership Card. Even if you signed a support card in the past, now that we have a contract you must sign the new Membership Card to become a full member of CPW-UAW Local 4100. Please take a moment to become a member now!
As we continue to face the challenges created by COVID-19 and the federal government’s hostility to international workers’ rights, having a strong collective voice as researchers is more important than ever. Majority support enabled us to win a historic first contract, and strong majority membership will help us enforce the rights we won in our first contract, win further workplace improvements, and help us fight on the national stage for science funding, international workers’ rights, civil rights, and other policy priorities alongside the 80,000 other academic workers in the UAW.
The University has informed us that increases to the new minimum compensation rates are being processed to appear on the August 31 payday (September 1 for Postdoctoral Research Fellows). This adjustment should also include amounts owed retroactive to July 1. If you do not receive the proper adjustment, please let us know immediately. We also continue to work with the University to compile the information required to process the lump sum payments outlined in the contract, which we expect to be processed in September.
Notice of Nominations and Election for CPW-UAW Local 4100 Elections Committee
Consistent with the UAW Constitution, our upcoming Local Union officer elections (such as Executive Board or Steward elections) must be administered by a democratically-elected elections committee.
NOMINATIONS: All CPW-UAW Local 4100 members have been nominated to serve on the CPW-UAW Local 4100 Elections Committee. The Elections Committee shall consist of five (5) members in good standing. The term of office for the Elections Committee shall be one (1) year.
To accept the nomination to serve on the Elections Committee, you must submit your acceptance in writing via email to columbiapostdocunion@gmail.com no later than 5pm on Friday, August 14, 2020. If you have not yet signed a membership card already, you may do so by signing an online membership card prior to accepting nomination.
Duties of elections committee members include drafting and sending out nominations and election notices, confirming eligibility of candidates, overseeing elections, counting ballots, and announcing results. Committee members should expect to administer several elections over the course of a 1 year term.
ELECTION: If the total number of eligible members accepting nomination exceeds five (5), an election will be held online on Tuesday, August 18, 2020, between 9am and 5pm. All members in good standing shall be eligible to vote.
Call for interest in participating in our Bylaws Committee
Being a member of the bylaws committee is a significant time commitment, probably taking place in August and early September. Committee members will draft the bylaws (for instance, by reading other Locals’ bylaws as examples and customizing them for our unit), present them to the membership, incorporate feedback, put them to a vote by the members, then submit the approved bylaws to the UAW.
Bylaws address things like the structure and frequency of membership meetings, the number of stewards, how officers and stewards are elected and can be recalled, how future bargaining committees are structured and elected, and how members can amend bylaws in the future. An example of bylaws from an academic UAW Local of similar size to ours can be found here. While there is no formal deadline to volunteer for the Bylaws Committee, we ask that interested volunteers respond by 5pm on Friday, August 14, 2020.
If you have further questions, please reach out by responding to this email.
As we establish our new Local Union, we need researchers to serve on the Elections and Bylaws Committees. These are important and significant ways you can get involved and contribute to our Union’s continued success. Please see below for more information on those, and please send us an email if you have any questions and we will be happy to discuss in more detail.
Notice of Nominations and Election for CPW-UAW Local 4100 Elections Committee
Consistent with the UAW Constitution, our upcoming Local Union officer elections (such as Executive Board or Steward elections) must be administered by a democratically-elected elections committee.
NOMINATIONS: All CPW-UAW Local 4100 members in good standing are hereby nominated to serve on the CPW-UAW Local 4100 Elections Committee. The Elections Committee shall consist of five (5) members in good standing. The term of office for the Elections Committee shall be one (1) year.
To accept the nomination to serve on the Elections Committee, you must submit your acceptance in writing via email to columbiapostdocunion@gmail.com no later than 5pm on Friday, August 14, 2020. If you have not yet signed a membership card already, you may do so by signing and submitting an online membership card prior to accepting nomination.
Duties of elections committee members include drafting and sending out nominations and election notices, confirming eligibility of candidates, overseeing elections, counting ballots, and announcing results. Committee members should expect to administer several elections over the course of a 1 year term.
ELECTION: If the total number of eligible members accepting nomination exceeds five (5), an election will be held online on Tuesday, August 18, 2020, between 9am and 5pm. All members in good standing shall be eligible to vote.
Call for interest in participating in our Bylaws Committee
Being a member of the bylaws committee is a significant time commitment, probably taking place in August and early September. Committee members will draft the bylaws (for instance, by reading other Locals’ bylaws as examples and customizing them for our unit), present them to the membership, incorporate feedback, put them to a vote by the members, then submit the approved bylaws to the UAW.
Bylaws address things like how often membership meetings happen and how they are run, the number of stewards, how officers and stewards are elected and can be recalled, how future bargaining committees are structured and elected, and how members can amend bylaws in the future. An example of bylaws from an academic UAW Local of similar size to ours can be found here. While there is no formal deadline to volunteer for the Bylaws Committee, we ask that interested volunteers respond by 5pm on Friday, August 14, 2020.
If you have further questions, please reach out by responding to this email.
Amidst the growing movement for Black Lives Matter and widespread protests against police brutality, UAW members across our region have engaged in a variety of actions and discussions regarding systemic racism. As part of these ongoing discussions, a group of rank-and-file members have organized a forum on Racism and Policing, which will be hosted by UAW Region 9A on Wednesday, September 16, at 7pm EDT. Please RSVP here to attend along with other CPW-UAW Local 4100 members.
