2019-2020 Contract Negotiations

Join us for a Virtual Membership Meeting, Thursday, 11/19 at 6:30pm

This is a reminder of our virtual membership meeting this Thursday November 19 at 6:30pm. After hearing report-backs on progress with setting up our Local Union, we will discuss and vote on a set of proposed jurisdictions for our Stewards. You can find the proposal here – please feel free to review it in preparation for the meeting.

To conduct the vote and discussion in an orderly manner, we will follow the parliamentary procedure used in most Local Unions and community organization meetings outlined in Robert’s Rules of Order. Here is a cheat sheet with the most commonly used rules.  

If the jurisdictions are approved by the membership the period of nomination and election for our Stewards will begin. Stewards will fulfill a crucial role by organizing and engaging co-workers, assisting with grievances, and ensuring all Postdocs and ARSs are informed about the activities of our union. If you want to learn more about the role of Stewards and participate in this important discussion RSVP for the membership meeting here.

If you would be interested in assisting the Elections Committee as a volunteer during the Steward elections, please reach out to the Elections Committee at cpwuawelections@gmail.com  

Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or suggestions,

In Solidarity,

CPW-UAW Local 4100 Executive Board

Our next membership meeting will be held on Thursday, November 19th at 6:30pm. We will discuss and vote on proposed jurisdictions for Stewards at the meeting among other recent updates. Click here to RSVP for the meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rc-ioqj4qGdIjwWR7G0Z-fLAhd-mr4JoH

Lump sum bonus for those near or above the new minimums

Lump sum bonuses should have been processed during the last pay period of October. If your salary is at or above the new minimums but are not sure whether you have received the lump sum or if the amount is correct, please reach out to columbiapostdocunion@gmail.com so we can help address the issue.

In solidarity,

CPW-UAW Local 4100 Executive Board

The vote on whether to ratify our Local Union bylaws has concluded as of 8:00pm on Monday, November 2, 2020 and 100% of those participating voted yes to ratifying our bylaws. The results are as follows:

72 ballots submitted

• 72 – Yes
• 0 – No
• 0 – Abstained

Thank you to everyone who participated in the vote. Ratifying our bylaws is an important step in the process of establishing our Local Union, CPW-UAW 4100. You can read the bylaws here.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions about the vote at cpwuawelections@gmail.com.

CPW-UAW Local 4100 Elections Committee

This is a reminder that we will be holding an online membership meeting this evening, 10/30 at 6pm. The Bylaws Committee will present an updated draft of bylaws for our Local Union, in response to the comments and feedback you all have provided about the initial draft.   

RSVP for the Membership Meeting

Voting on whether to approve the bylaws will be held online and will open after the meeting tonight, no later than 8pm, and will close Monday, November 2nd at 8pm. Please check your inbox and spam folder for an email with instructions for casting your online vote.

The vote will be conducted by our Elections Committee. If you have any questions about the election, please reach out to the Elections Committee at cpwuawelections@gmail.com

Solidarity,

CPW-UAW Local 4100 Executive Board

Please join us at the next online CPW Local 4100 membership meeting this Friday evening, 10/30 at 6pm. The Bylaws Committee will present an updated draft of bylaws for our Local Union, in response to the comments and feedback you all have provided about the initial draft.

The Bylaws Committee is still accepting additional feedback on the initial draft of our bylaws through this online form until this Thursday, 10/29 at noon. After the Bylaws Committee presents the updated draft at this Friday’s meeting, the membership will vote online on whether to approve the bylaws for three days through November 2nd.    

RSVP for the Membership Meeting

In order to attend the membership meeting and provide feedback, please sign up before the meeting here.

In solidarity,

CPW-UAW Local 4100 Executive Board

Click here to read the initial draft of our Local Union bylaws.

At our membership meeting on Monday, our Bylaws Committee presented an initial draft of bylaws for our Local Union. The Bylaws will provide the democratic governance structure for our union and establish the rights of union members in that structure. As a member of our local union, your active participation in the formation of these bylaws is highly encouraged – please read through the draft and offer whatever feedback you may have to the Bylaws Committee.

The Bylaws Committee will be accepting feedback on the bylaws through Thursday, October 29th at 12pm. Click here to submit feedback on the draft.

Based on this feedback, the Bylaws Committee will develop a final draft which will be presented at a membership meeting on October 30th, followed by an online vote to approve the bylaws through November 2nd.

Support Researcher Parents during COVID-19

Columbia introduced a temporary childcare subsidy during July and August addressing urgent problems with scarce and increasingly expensive childcare during COVID-19. However, these problems continue to exist. Furthermore, the partial re-opening of schools, and increasing infection rates across NYC, have only added to the uncertainty and stress we all experience.

Our newly-formed Parents Working Group is continuing the fight for a more inclusive and equitable Columbia by calling on the university administration to extend the emergency childcare benefit for parents during COVID-19.

Please, regardless of your parental status, add your name to the petition to support parents in our unit and across the broader Columbia community.

CPW-UAW Local 4100 Executive Board

This is a reminder that we will be holding an online membership meeting this evening, 10/19 at 7pm. As the primary agenda item, the Bylaws Committee will present an initial draft of bylaws for our Local Union, as well as answer questions and collect feedback about the draft. The Bylaws will provide the democratic governance structure for our union and establish the rights of union members in that structure. If you would like to review it before tonight’s meeting, you may read the initial draft of our bylaws here.

After the meeting, the Bylaws Committee intends to allow 10 days for members to provide additional feedback through this online form. Based on this feedback, the Bylaws Committee will develop a final draft. We will have a second membership meeting on October 29th to present the final draft. The membership will vote online on whether to approve the bylaws for three days between Friday, October 30th, to Sunday, November 1st.

RSVP for the Membership Meeting

In solidarity,

CPW-UAW Local 4100 Executive Board

Submit a comment on Trump’s new xenophobic visa restrictions!

As many of you know, the Trump administration recently proposed new rule changes for F and J visas. These changes would dramatically shorten the length of time international students and scholars may remain in the U.S. before having to apply for a visa renewal. UAW academic workers across the country are submitting comments on the proposed changes. The more comments we generate, the more we can delay the new rules going into effect. The deadline to submit a comment is October 26th. Click here to submit your comment on these changes in just a few minutes with an online template.

These proposed rule changes are just the latest in a sequence of attacks on immigrants that included the recent visa revocations from over one thousand Chinese students and scholars. Sign our petition against unfair visa revocations here.

Please let us know if you would like to get involved with fighting for international researcher rights.          

In solidarity,

CPW-UAW Local 4100 Executive Board

RSVP for our October Membership Meeting!

Our next CPW-UAW Membership Meeting will be held on October 19th, at 7pm over zoom.

At the meeting, our Bylaws Committee will present an initial draft of a set of Local Union Bylaws, which will provide a governance structure for our union, including voting procedures, electing representatives, standing committees, and other topics. The Committee will use feedback from the discussion to produce a final draft which will be put to a vote by the membership. We will also discuss updates on organizing, working groups, and progress with implementing our contract.

Best,

CPW-UAW Local 4100 Executive Board

Tell Columbia to extend the COVID-19 Emergency Childcare Benefit!

Columbia introduced a temporary childcare subsidy during July and August addressing urgent problems with scarce and increasingly expensive childcare during COVID-19. However, these problems continue to exist. Furthermore, the partial re-opening of schools and increasing infection rates across NYC, have only added to the uncertainty and stress we all experience. 

Our newly-formed Parents Working Group is continuing the fight for a more inclusive and equitable Columbia by calling on the university administration to extend the emergency childcare benefit for parents during COVID-19.

Please, regardless of your parental status, add your name to the petition to support parents in our unit and across the broader Columbia community. 

In solidarity,

CPW-UAW Local 4100 Executive Board