We are having an open review and feedback period on the report from the survey on power-based harassment conducted last year. The survey report highlights the current bullying problem at Columbia University and conveys the importance of having a strong policy against abuse/bullying at Columbia. This report will be an important tool to ensure that the anti-bullying recommendations we are currently developing in a university-wide committee are actually implemented into policy by the university.
If you would like to provide feedback on the current draft of the survey report, please respond to this email and we will send you a link to the Google Docs. You can provide feedback by commenting on the document, and/or by coming to one of our working group meetings (Monday 3/21 or 3/28 at 4pm; please email us to get the Zoom link). The feedback period will be open until 3/31. After that, we will finalize the report and begin disseminating it in April.
Thank you to everyone who responded to the survey and helped out!
THIS THURSDAY!! CPW+SWC Town Hall on anti-bullying policy recommendations
In our first contract, we won the right to a university-wide committee that would design an anti-bullying policy recommendation for the university and include representatives from both of our union, CPW-UAW and the union for Student Workers, SWC-UAW. The committee is very close to making its recommendations!
Reminder – about today’s membership meeting at 6:30pm. RSVP to attend and check the proposed agenda here.
CPW+SWC Town Hall next Thursday 03/24 @5pm – to hear more and discuss recommendations made for an university-wide anti-bullying policy
Update – Petition to win back retirement contributions frozen during the pandemic
CPW+SWC Town Hall on anti-bullying policy recommendations:
In our first contract, we won the right to a university-wide committee that would design an anti-bullying policy recommendation for the university and include representatives from both of our union, CPW-UAW and the union for Student Workers, SWC-UAW. The committee is very close to making its recommendations!
Join us for a town hall with CPW + SWC members on Thursday, 24 at 5 pm to hear more and provide feedback!
Petition to reclaim retirement contributions frozen during the pandemic:
We are close to 400 signatures already in our petition requesting the university to give us back the retirement contributions frozen during the pandemic!
Please, share the petition! Talk to Postodcs and ARSs colleagues, but also admin and faculty who were also affected by the freezing and whose signatures can help us meet our goal.
Like and share on social media! Spread the campaign and testimonials from colleagues at the university affected by the withholding.
Don’t hesitate to reach out or attend tonight’s membership meeting with any question, concern, and/or fresh ideas!
Topics proposed for report and discussion at our membership meeting:
Our first Union-Management Committee meeting, where we discussed with the administration issues faced by Postdocs/ARSs such as appointment/reappointment delays, difficulties when applying for grants, and bullying.
Campaign to win back retirement contributions launched by our Local and the Columbia Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (www.aaupcu.org) – add your signature here and feel free to distribute the attached flyer.
Progress of the university-wide committee discussing policy to address bullying and power-based harassment.
Difficulties increasing the childcare benefit for researchers at Zuckerman Institute
Our monthly Finances and Executive Board reports.
And bring any other suggestions!
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions, suggestions or thoughts,
Columbia Postdoctoral Workers along with the Columbia chapter of American Association of University Professors (AAUP-CU) are launching an online petition requesting Columbia to refund the retirement contributions of officers that were curtailed during the pandemic.
When adding your name, please fill in the TITLE, ORGANIZATION and DEPARTMENT fields in order to show support from across the university.
Background:
By the end of 2020, we were informed that in anticipation of a financial cataclysm, officers (research, instruction and administration) would see their retirement contributions “moderated” to a minimum, after a year when we all went the extra mile to maintainthe university open.
In September 2021 we learned that not only did these revenue losses never materialize, but Columbia earned $150M in profit and the endowment grew from $11.3B to $14.35B. Notably, similar measures at Johns Hopkins University were reversed upon a faculty-driven audit that proved no losses.
This measure particularly hurts the future income of young researchers and early career faculty during a stage of our careers where we are starting to build for our future: a punishment rather than recognition for being ESSENTIAL during these unprecedented times.
On February 25 the Executive Boards of our union and AAUP-CU sent a letter to the administration making this request but we have not heard any response yet. Therefore, we are requesting signatures of support to the letter demanding that Columbia University retroactively refunds lost retirement contributions to all officers of the university as a gesture of solidarity with essential workers.
Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter! We hope you find the information contained herein valuable. If so, please feel free to share our subscription link! We love to highlight local unions and members! If you have something you want announced, have a member you want to suggest we highlight, tell us about a great new contract, or announce a new group of workers joining our union email it to Cathie!
UAW Region 9A stands in solidarity with our siblings and family from both Ukraine and Russia. We hope that strategic political and diplomatic solutions being set forth will protect and support families from both countries and minimize the harm and destruction.
MATTHEW DONLEVY UAW LOCAL 2322
I’ve worked as a Union Rep at 2322 since June of last year and represent the Graduate Employee Organization (GEO), the Resident Assistant/Peer Mentor Union (RAPMU) as well as Postdoctoral Researcher Organizing (PRO) all on the UMass Amherst campus. I got heavily involved with GEO upon matriculation into a graduate program in 2013; first as general agitator or management, then as a departmental steward and finally as the chief negotiation of GEO’s 2017-2020 contract. During that time I also worked closely with the local through service on the elections committee, finance committee and through solidarity actions with our other units such as ServiceNet. In 2018 I moved back south to take care of my mother, and had the pleasure to work with UCW-CWA in TN, as a rank and filer, to organize faculty and staff. I learned a lot about organizing and representing workers who live in a hostile state, don’t have contracts/recognized unions, and who keenly felt a lack of power and control – especially under pandemic conditions. Now I’m back in Western Mass, and ready to kick UMass @ss. I regretted not getting more involved with 2322 before, graduate school devoured my time, but I’m glad to be back and to be making up for it. I’ve always appreciated our local, and GEO in particular, for its assertive defense of members as well as its courage to take cutting edge, and sometimes unpopular, stances on political and economic issues that impact the working class.
I did not have much of a chance to involve myself with 9A before beyond smaller things like participating in lobby day, presenting Region positions at the most recent constitutional convention or supporting other higher ed locals in their organizing and bargaining efforts.
I’ve worked as a Union Rep at 2322 since June of last year and represent the Graduate Employee Organization (GEO), the Resident Assistant/Peer Mentor Union (RAPMU) as well as Postdoctoral Researcher Organizing (PRO) all on the UMass Amherst campus. I got heavily involved with GEO upon matriculation into a graduate program in 2013; first as general agitator or management, then as a departmental steward and finally as the chief negotiation of GEO’s 2017-2020 contract. During that time I also worked closely with the local through service on the elections committee, finance committee and through solidarity actions with our other units such as ServiceNet. In 2018 I moved back south to take care of my mother, and had the pleasure to work with UCW-CWA in TN, as a rank and filer, to organize faculty and staff. I learned a lot about organizing and representing workers who live in a hostile state, don’t have contracts/recognized unions, and who keenly felt a lack of power and control – especially under pandemic conditions. Now I’m back in Western Mass, and ready to kick UMass @ss. I regretted not getting more involved with 2322 before, graduate school devoured my time, but I’m glad to be back and to be making up for it. I’ve always appreciated our local, and GEO in particular, for its assertive defense of members as well as its courage to take cutting edge, and sometimes unpopular, stances on political and economic issues that impact the working class.
I did not have much of a chance to involve myself with 9A before beyond smaller things like participating in lobby day, presenting Region positions at the most recent constitutional convention or supporting other higher ed locals in their organizing and bargaining efforts.
Now, I hope to do so through much of the same, but by also taking a more active role in the many committees and working groups that are doing important labor on behalf of our members in the Region. And I think you should too! Personally I’ve never been much of a hobby person, but I’m working on it – the pandemic made that a necessity! Recently I’ve been doing a lot of hiking (finished a 5 day hike in Chile not too long ago), semi-successful cooking, reading/cocktail groups with friends, and involving myself as much as I can in local activism. I also like motorcycles, hosting dinners and tastefully cyber-bullying backwards local politicians. I’m always down to try new hobbies though; if any of you know how to play the banjo or how not to kill house plants please contact me directly.
I’ve always had a sharp understanding of power and justice – that was cultivated in me early by some of the things I experienced growing up. I refined that understanding in undergrad, and by the time I got to UMass joining GEO was as self-evident as breathing. Unions, at their best, are one of the few bulwarks the working class (and workers in general) have against the rampant material and social indignities of racialized capitalism. I’ve always been interested in growing union spaces to be the vehicle of a radical cross-everything solidarity that we all desperately need, and are unlikely to find otherwise in our lives. My goals for my local, and the labor movement more broadly, are to achieve just that. To be relevant spaces of worker power where we can labor together towards a vision of the future where we actually exist.
UAW REGION 9A WELCOMES LOCAL 2710 STUDENT WORKERS OF COLUMBIA!
On February 22, 2022, UAW International President Ray Curry and Secretary-Treasurer Frank Stuglin Chartered UAW Region 9A’s newest local union, Student Workers of Columbia! The local chose the number 2710 to memorialize the day they walked into Columbia University President Lee Bollinger’s class calling on the University for a fair contract.
GEU-UAW LOCAL 6950 CONTRACT UPDATE
Yesterday, Local 6950 GA Bargaining Team reached tentative agreement on their third contract with UConn! This tentative agreement builds on their previous two contracts and continues to improve the working conditions of Graduate Assistants at the University. Members will vote to ratify the contract beginning next week. After ratification, the contract will then be submitted for legislative approval. Some of the contract wins include: – a 15% wage increases over the 4 years of the contract with 4% raises in the first year- maintain quality healthcare at an affordable price- won protections against bullying and power-based harassment- expand the childcare reimbursement fund from $160,000 to $225,000 each year- recognition and accommodations for members to celebrate cultural and religious holidays
CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS BEGIN AT COLT FIREARMS – UAW LOCAL 376
UAW Local 376 hit the bargaining table today opening up contract negotiations with their oldest legacy unit of workers at Colt Firearms in West Hartford, CT. President Craig smith and the unit bargaining team are ready to fight for improved compensation and benefits and work rules.
ARBITRATION UPDATE FROM UAW LOCAL 405
My name is William Lenworth and I’ve been a member of UAW Local 405 for nine years at Triumph Engine Control System in West Hartford, CT. Having a union has made a difference in my life. Ten months ago, my employer unfairly terminated me. The union filed for arbitration, fought for my job and was able to reach a settlement stipulation getting me back to work. It has been a difficult journey for me, but without a union I would have not been able to recover my job. Union strong!
UAW REGION 9A DIRECTOR BEVERLEY BRAKEMAN AND MEMBERS TESTIFY IN CT IN SUPPORT OF REVENUE GENERATOR AND CAPTIVE AUDIENCE BILLS
On March 3, 2022, UAW Region 9A Regional Director Beverley Brakeman testified in front of Connecticut’s Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee in support of three bills designed to generate much needed revenue to support housing, education, food security, and other safety net programs that Connecticut residents need. As a member of the Recovery For All Coalition, Beverley highlighted how these bills could make a significant difference in people’s lives, drawing upon a very personal experience in her own life with one of her daughters and her ex-husband. You can read Beverley’s testimony here. Links to specific bills: SB21, SB28 and SB29.
On March 4, 2022, UAW Region9ARegional Director Beverley Brakeman testified in front of Connecticut’s Judiciary Committee in support of SB163: An Act Protecting Employee Freedom of Speech Conscience. This bill would establish a new state minimum labor standard to allow employees to refuse to attend employer-mandated captive audience meetings regarding the employer’s opinion on religious or political matters (including union organizing) would permit employees to leave the meeting and return to work. Employees would have the right to make their own decisions about their own workplace interests, rather than being harassed and coerced to vote in the employer’s financial interest. This bill is a priority this legislative session not only for us, but for the CT AFL-CIO. There is also an effort underway to pass a similar bill in New York as well. You can read Beverley’s testimony here.
The deadline to accept steward and executive board nominations closed on Friday, February 26th at 11:59 PM ET. We can now announce that the following candidates have been elected in their position by acclamation (they ran unopposed):
Executive Board Positions:
Recording Secretary: Giuseppe Federico Amodeo (Neurology)
Guide: Enrica Calzoni (Pediatrics)
Stewards Positions:
CUMC District 6: Sreeharsha Gurrapu (Cancer Center)
Yesterday was President’s Day and a holiday for CUIMC recognized in our contract. As always, remember that if you had to work you can request an alternative day off.
In this email you will find:
A report from our last membership meeting
Another report from yesterday’s anti-bullying working group – RSVP here to attend future meetings on Mondays at 4pm
An update on requesting the reimbursement of the retirement benefits that were frozen due to the pandemic
A reminder that the period of nomination for positions in our union is open. Click here for details
The announcement that we have a new email address for our union: postdocunion@uaw4100.org that we will start using regularly. Please check your inbox and spam folders to make sure you receive all our communications.
Report from last membership meeting
As per some members’ request, at our last membership meeting, we discussed whether to join the union for Student Workers at Columbia (SWC). Over 100 members joined the meeting for this fundamental discussion. The motion, whether SWC should be allowed to join our local at this time, failed with 15 votes in favor, 67 against and 4 abstain. A complete tally of the votes is available upon request.
While the discussion was confusing at times (as we keep learning to conduct our meetings in an efficient manner and according to our bylaws), it was clear that there is broad agreement on all sides that we should develop a close collaboration with SWC and stand in solidarity with each other’s priorities. While we prepare for negotiations of our second contract and organize around some of the priorities detailed in this email, we will also take concrete steps to meet regularly with SWC members and organize together. If members choose to, a vote to merge with SWC can be taken again in the future.
Report from yesterday’s anti-bullying working group
Yesterday, members of our union met to discuss a report from the university-wide anti-bullying committee that is getting close to a full draft of its policy recommendation for the university. The working group meets on Mondays at 4pm on zoom. Please RSVP here if you want to join the postdoc/ARS anti-bullying working group to provide feedback on the draft policy.
As discussed with members of SWC already, we propose to strengthen the already existing collaboration between CPW and SWC representatives in the university-wide anti-bullying working group, by holding town halls for both units to discuss the final recommendations and a collective campaign.
Update on lost retirement contributions
The recently formed Columbia chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), which includes a diverse group of faculty, has agreed to partner with our union in a university-wide petition to reimburse the retirement contributions that were frozen in 2021 due to pandemic-related financial decisions. This will be an online petition so stay tuned for more information via email and social media.
Please, don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions, comments and thoughts.
Reminder about membership meeting today 02/17/22 at 6:30pm on zoom (More information here). You can find the proposed agenda below and if you have not had the chance yet you can RSVP in this link:
In addition, the university wide anti-bullying committee is getting close to a full draft of its policy recommendation for the university. Please join the postdoc/ARS anti-bullying working group to provide feedback on the draft policy. The working group meets on Mondays at 4pm on zoom. Please RSVP here if you want to join!
Membership meeting agenda proposal:
Call to order – 1min
Additions/changes/deletions to the agenda – 2min
Approval of agenda – 1min
Reading of the minutes of the previous meeting – 2min
Elections Committee announcement – 3min
Quick announcements – 5min
January report from the Financial Secretary – 5min
Discussion and vote [“yes, no or abstain”] “on whether the SWC should be allowed to join our local” – 40min
Adjournment – 1min
To conduct the discussion in an orderly manner we follow the parliamentary procedure used in most Local Unions and community organization meetings outlined in Robert’s Rules of Order. If you have any questions about how to use these rules during the meeting, always feel free to ask. As a new local union, we are all learning together and there are no wrong questions. You can find a cheat sheet with the most commonly used rules here.
Some members have requested that we hold a vote at our next membership meeting on whether to merge (or amalgamate) our union with the student workers union, SWC. As members of the Executive Board, who carry out the day-to-day work of running our union, we believe it is our duty to provide members with a realistic assessment of what amalgamating right now would mean for our recently established union. After discussing this issue with a number of postdocs/ARSs in the past week, we met last Sunday to prepare this statement for your consideration. Above all, we respect the right of the Local to make a democratic decision about this fundamental question, and we will communicate the outcome of the vote to the UAW Regional Director.
In addition, we want to let you know that 86 out of roughly 3000 SWC members rank-voted last week on this question. The top choice of 43 members was to amalgamate with our union; 25 members voted to form their own local, and 18 voted to amalgamate with other unions.
Finally, we are sharing this Pros/Cons document which we will update until the membership meeting with feedback from members. We are also including this flyer, submitted by some members of our unit, providing arguments in support of immediate amalgamation.
This vote has the potential to fundamentally transform our local union, so please make your voice heard by attending the meeting.
Against making a hasty decision on the fundamental question of merging our local with the Student Workers of Columbia
As members of the Executive Board of CPW-UAW Local 4100, we believe that solidarity among workers increases our power in the workplace and beyond. On this basis, we support amalgamation of Locals when it is mutually beneficial. The recent victory of the student workers union (SWC) is great news in this regard, but we need to take several factors into consideration before deciding whether to amalgamate.
CPW has been built through engagement of a majority of our members
We are a very diverse union, with members of different backgrounds and priorities. To best represent every member’s interests, our power has been built largely through one-to-one conversations with at minimum a majority of members at every major decision point. This method allowed us to win our union election, to win a strong contract – the first in a private university in the US – and laid the groundwork for SWC to win a similar contract over a year later. We want to make a decision about amalgamation using the same democratic process, through one-to-one engagement and feedback from at least a majority of our members, including those who can’t regularly attend union meetings.
Loss of postdoc/ARS representation will be the first consequence of amalgamation
If we choose to amalgamate now, we will go from being autonomous to becoming a ⅓ minority in our own Local. There is no guarantee that bylaws will protect our rights, as bylaws are voted on by members (which will be only ⅓ postdocs/ARS). We should not vote to amalgamate before thoroughly discussing the terms of a merger and establishing a productive relationship with SWC.
Our union is young, with limited resources, and we have a lot of time-sensitive priorities
We have signed up close to 900 researchers as members of our union and despite our high turnover we are already close to majority membership. For over a year we have been building our union, learning to win grievances, enforcing our contract, administering ourselves financially and hiring our first staff member. We are finally at a point where we can focus on winning more rights, such as an anti-bullying policy and the refund of lost retirement benefits. We also need to prepare for our second contract negotiation within the year, a process which will involve designing and completing bargaining surveys, establishing and voting on contract priorities, making issue-specific working groups and electing a bargaining committee.
SWC has 4 years until they negotiate their next contract, and can therefore take their time to build their union. If we amalgamate now, the current E-Board and elected officers, with the limited economic and human resources built by postdocs/ARSs, will be legally responsible for implementing their contract until we set up new structures and build up the student membership. This will mean our priorities as Postdocs and ARSs will take a step backward and we will have to repeat much of the work already done (writing new bylaws, establishing new leadership structures, signing up a majority of students) instead of focusing on our next contract campaign.
Strengthening each of our unions does not require amalgamating right now
To benefit from each other’s strengths we do not need to be in the same Local. We can organize together around shared priorities and build our unity on a solid basis: on our campaign for an anti-bullying policy, and our membership drives. Learning from each other’s tactics as we benefit from their momentum and they benefit from our experience, but without compromising the representation and unity of any union.
Plan for reconsidering amalgamation after our second contract
We can decide to merge any time in the future by a simple vote of both unions and approval of the International Executive Board. We believe that right now we should focus our resources on postdoc/ARS priorities and winning a strong second contract. In the meantime, while strengthening collaboration with SWC on common interests, we can consult with a majority of our membership about merging, collect info, questions, and resources to make an informed decision. Taking time after our second contract will allow us to reconsider amalgamation and negotiate the terms of a merger on a concrete basis for Postdocs and Associate researchers.
Some of our union members reached out to the executive board with a request for a meeting to vote on inviting Student Workers of Columbia-UAW to become part of our Local 4100, along with a petition expressing the same request. We will be adding this topic to the agenda of our next membership meeting on February 17th.
In our last email, we discussed ways in which we can all become fully informed about the consequences of joining the student union and make this decision after careful deliberation. Amalgamating immediately with a unit that is more than twice as large as ours, will make postdocs/ARS a minority in the Local, and would change not only our representation in the union, but also the availability of economic and human resources for our priorities, like winning university-wide bullying policy, professionalizing our grievance handling team with our stewards, and performing bargaining surveys among a majority of postdocs and ARSs in preparation for our contract campaign. These concerns are not insurmountable but require careful deliberation, especially for our young Local.
Since some of you may have received this petition, we wanted to take a moment to correct some inaccuracies and provide a little more context for you to understand our thinking on this so far and to help you think about this issue.
The petition portrays our communication with SWC on this topic as having rejected the idea of merging, or “amalgamating”, outright. This is not the case – what was communicated to SWC was that we need significantly more consultation with our members before this decision can be made.This was based on the discussion we had at our last membership meeting on January 20. We have also discussed with SWC ways to strengthen our collaboration right now. In the past we have worked on several successful campaingns such as our 2019 petition on discrimination and harassment (in which a majority of both units participated) or mobilizing for the March for Science several years in a row.
The Regional Director of UAW Region 9A decides the placement of a new union like SWC within the UAW – either as its own Local union or in an existing Local – based on a range of factors about what would be best for all members in the Region, including preferences of individual locals. While we can discuss and decide among ourselves what we would prefer, the Director is expected to make a decision as soon as this week due to the urgency of SWC beginning to establish itself post-ratification.
Once SWC is an established union, we can choose to merge our unions, or “amalgamate”, at any time, through a process outlined in the UAW constitution (Article 35, Section 1) with a simple vote in favor by both units and communication to the International Executive Board.
The petition maintains that being in the same local will facilitate collaboration between student workers and Postdoc/ARSs. However, nothing guarantees that being in the same Local ensures that we all work together. Indeed, rushing into a hasty decision without proper consultation of our members, proper analysis of the pros and cons, and without fully thinking about how to overcome the possible difficulties that a merger may cause can result in division and diminished empowerment of postdoctoral and Associate researchers.
Finally, we think it is important that we all understand the internal changes required for an amalgamated Local union. If we were to amalgamate with SWC, we would need to establish a new committee with student workers to look into and revise our bylaws, which provide the governance framework for Local 4100, including steward districts, standing committees, membership meetings, and distribution of financial resources, among other aspects of the Local. We would then ratify the bylaws through membership vote. We would also need to create a new leadership structure, called a joint council, which would be elected proportionately to represent both units and would direct the Local along with the Executive Board (i.e CPW likely would roughly ⅓ of the Local and therefore have roughly ⅓ of the positions in the Local).
Please let us know what information you would find helpful in voting on this topic in advance of the February 17th meeting – you can share any questions or thoughts on this form – or feel free to reach out to the E-Board directly.
Yesterday, Local 6950 GA Bargaining Team reached tentative agreement on their third contract with UConn! This tentative agreement builds on their previous two contracts and continues to improve the working conditions of Graduate Assistants at the University. Members will vote to ratify the contract beginning next week. After ratification, the contract will then be submitted for legislative approval. Some of the contract wins include: – a 15% wage increases over the 4 years of the contract with 4% raises in the first year- maintain quality healthcare at an affordable price- won protections against bullying and power-based harassment- expand the childcare reimbursement fund from $160,000 to $225,000 each year- recognition and accommodations for members to celebrate cultural and religious holidays 
On March 3, 2022, UAW Region 9A Regional Director Beverley Brakeman testified in front of Connecticut’s Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee in support of three bills designed to generate much needed revenue to support housing, education, food security, and other safety net programs that Connecticut residents need. As a member of the Recovery For All Coalition, Beverley highlighted how these bills could make a significant difference in people’s lives, drawing upon a very personal experience in her own life with one of her daughters and her ex-husband. You can read Beverley’s testimony 