The Bargaining Committee met tonight after the General Body Meeting to finalize the discussion of the timeline for the upcoming ratification vote. The vote will be conducted from Wednesday, April 21, 9 AM ET to Friday, April 30, 5 PM ET. The exact details of the vote will be announced soon; the vote will be electronic.
The Bargaining Committee recommends to vote YES on the tentative agreement reached with the University. We reached the decision to recommend as a committee in a 7-3 vote. You can find the full text of the agreement here and the highlights here.
What is the contract ratification vote?
The contract ratification vote is a vote for all bargaining unit members to democratically determine whether or not to accept the terms of the agreement that has been tentatively agreed to by the University and the Union’s elected Bargaining Committee. A simple majority of those voting determines the outcome of the vote. However, for the vote to be representative and powerful, it is critical for a supermajority of student workers to participate.
What happens if the result of the vote is Yes (to ratify the contract)?
If a majority of those voting accept the tentative agreement, the new contract would take effect upon the conclusion of the ratification vote. Compensation increases would take effect on August 1, and all PhD workers in years 1-7 on 9-month appointments would get a $1,000 COVID relief this summer.
What happens if the result of the vote is No (not to ratify the contract)?
If a majority of voters vote NO, the offer from the University would not be approved as a new contract. We would then return to negotiations. and would certainly attempt to reproduce the terms that were offered today; however, Columbia might not uphold all of our prior tentative agreements, and it is likely that we would not achieve the same or a better offer without significant additional mobilization.
Who oversees the ratification vote?
Similar to Strike Authorization Votes, ratification votes are overseen by elected leadership of the Local and/or the unit, for example, the Bargaining Committee.