In February, we published an open letter announcing our commitment to organize for a strike authorization vote if Columbia refused to begin bargaining with us. Provost Coatsworth responded, exhorting us not to strike because of the massive effect withdrawing our labor might have on teaching, scholarship, and research at Columbia—and implicitly acknowledging that the university does, in fact, rely on our labor. But Provost Coatsworth, and the rest of the administration, refuse to do the one thing that would be certain to avert a strike: sit down and bargain with us.

We have waited long enough. Our strike authorization vote will be held from Monday, April 2 through Friday, April 13.

Voting will be held in-person at the following locations as well as through a moving ballot box that can be followed on our twitter account.

  • Morningside: 10am to 4pm, Nous Cafe//Graduate Student Center in Philosophy Hall
  • CUMC: 12pm to 2pm and 5 to 7pm, Hammer Health Sciences Building Room LL1-104
  • Lamont: 11am to 2pm (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday’s only), Graduate Student Lounge in the Cafeteria Building.
  • Manhattanville: 12pm to 2pm, Jerome L Greene Science Center Main Lobby. Please note, on April 10 we will be on the 5th floor. 

If you cannot make it to campus for the vote (ie: attending a conference, conducting research outside of the city, etc.) please let us know here. We will contact you with further instructions on how to vote.

We urge all of you to come out and vote. This is our chance to make our voice heard loud and clear to the administration, and to declare forcefully that unless they obey labor law and respect our democratic vote by bargaining immediately, they can expect a strike to follow. Let us all with one voice urge Columbia to begin bargaining before we are forced to call a strike, but let us also make clear that we refuse to allow the administration to delay any longer. The time is now.

Eligible voters will be Columbia graduate and undergraduate students who have signed a GWC-UAW authorization card and are currently employed by the university, previously employed by the university, or expect to be employed by the university in one of the categories outlined by the NLRB decision (i.e. graduate and undergraduate Teaching Assistants, Teaching Fellows, Preceptors, Course Assistants, Readers, Graders, Graduate Research Assistants [including those on Training Grants], and All Departmental Research Assistants). If you meet the above criteria and have not signed up for the Union previously, you would be able to do so at the polls in order to vote.

Know before you vote!