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. 

In solidarity,

CPW-UAW Executive Board

P.S. – To stay informed about our union, make sure to check our website columbiapostdocunion.org, and follow us on Slack, Twitter and Facebook!