August 2: Picnic to celebrate winning our first contract

2023

May 14 and 17, 2023: BIG CONGRATULATIONS to all Columbia graduating students!! And we recommend: a Postdoc position with a Union

BIG CONGRATULATIONS to all Columbia graduating students! Seeing you on campus on the Commencement day was 🤩🤩 Wishing you all the best and all the success you deserve in any path you will choose! During the event, we extended our congratulations, handed

May 11, 2023: 4th Session – All our non-economic articles presented. Admin’s turn to disclose how much they want to spend in our contract!

At our 4th bargaining session our Bargaining committee have presented all our non-economic proposals and now it is in the Administration’s court to respond how much are they willing to spend on supporting postdocs/ARSs. Despite us repeatedly saying that we

May 11, 2023: at the postdoctoral research symposium we show support for our union!

While bargaining was happening, union members had the chance to present their amazing scientific work at the postdoctoral research symposium – and showed their support for the ongoing bargaining! The symposium was a chance to catch up on the latest research news and

May 11, 2023: CPW and AAUP deliver a petition to reimburse the retirement contributions frozen in 2021

At 10 am we and the American Association of University Professors delivered a petition to reimburse the retirement contributions that were frozen in 2021 due to pandemic-related financial decisions. 800+ signatures were delivered to the Provost’s office! There was no financial hardship

May 10, 2023: Postdocs and ARSs at Lamont Rallied in Support of a Fair Contract

After our 3rd Bargaining Session we gathered at Lamont for an update on negotiations with coffee, T-shirts and the lovely Lamont campus vibe. We discussed why we need a fair contract that includes improvements in our contract demands!

May 2, 2023: We finally have a report on Columbia’s financial status! 🔥

CPW-UAW members funded an investigation of Columbia’s finances jointly with the Columbia chapter of AAUP, the American Association of University Professors. On May 2nd heard from Howard Bunsis, an institutional finance expert and professor of accounting at Eastern Michigan University

April 20, 2023: Our First Bargaining Session with a room full of Postdocs/ARSs

10 am, collective walking to Studebaker building and bargaining table formation. We filled the room and put forward our proposals. [Click to read more]

April 20, 2023: We start bargaining strong with a rally before the session

We discussed the process and agreed to close the feedback period for members to submit final edits to our contract in three days. Click check our presentation from the April meeting

April 17 2023: Our Bargaining Committee send our proposals to Columbia’s Administration

In anticipation of our upcoming negotiations, the Bargaining Committee emailed a package containing a description of our bargaining goals and the changes we propose to our contract and some guidelines on negotiation parameters and modalities between our two bargaining committees

April 16 2023: Ending period for members to provide feedback on contract

We discussed the process and agreed to close the feedback period for members to submit final edits to our contract in three days. Click check our presentation from the April meeting

Our contract was hard fought and hard won. Our Bargaining committee pushed for the priorities established by a majority of Postdocs and ARSs during 16-month of negotiations, while our Organizing Committee along with hundreds of Postdocs and ARSs applied pressure away from the table – including published op-ed articles, petitions, delegations, phone calls to the Provost, support from New York City and New York State politicians, and most importantly one-to-one organizing leading to an Open Letter to the President and Board of Trustees calling for a Strike Authorization Vote if Columbia did not make real progress. This combined action was critical to our bargaining’s eventual success and our first contract, the first for Postdocs in a NYC institution and the first in a private university in the US. We held a picnic in Riverside Park to celebrate our success and moving into the next phase of building our Local Union: CPW-UAW Local 4100.