Huge news! We just won back our union rights thanks to a sweeping decision today by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Read the full decision here.
Today’s decision means we will likely have an opportunity very soon to vote in a NLRB election on having GWC-UAW as our union. If a majority votes “yes” for GWC-UAW in that election, Columbia would then have a legal obligation to engage in collective bargaining with us as a union.
With collective bargaining, we would have more power to build on improvements we have already won by joining together across campus over the last few years. We could not only bargain as equals for additional improvements, but could also secure those provisions in a contract that Columbia could not change without our agreement—as they do frequently with our health and dental benefits.
The NLRB clearly recognizes the increasingly indispensable role we play in carrying out Columbia’s world-class research and teaching missions—we teach hundreds of classes and help bring in roughly $1 billion in research grants each year.
Up to this point, Columbia has fruitlessly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on an expensive outside law firm to oppose our right to a union. They say a union is “not necessary,” yet Columbia still fails to fully address the constant insecurity and unpredictability of our working conditions. We hope they will do better moving forward, and more than 160 elected and community leaders told Columbia last year that they agree with us.
As soon as we have more details, we will be in touch. In the meantime, make sure to come to the GWC BBQ on August 26 and our town hall on September 8.