Student-workers reached a first interim deal with Columbia university late last week after years of negotiations. A 10-week strike that threatened student credit hours for the fall semester. The four-year agreement includes a major victory for the UNION, given Colombia’s reluctance to accept it.

Access to full arbitration or mediation for student complaints of discrimination and harassment. This extends to sexual harassment and allegations of misconduct. As prosecutors have exhausted the university’s internal avenues for investigations and appeals.

Access to binding and independent arbitration in cases of misconduct became a target for many postgraduate student associations during my movement. Which highlighted potential conflicts of interest in university-run misdemeanor investigations. For example, Harvard university employees had access to arbitration in their recent contracts. But only for cases that did not involve alleged violations of federal anti-gender discrimination laws.

• The workers ended the strike 10 weeks after reaching a trial agreement.
• The agreement provides for an increase in the minimum wage for university workers.
• The final vote on the pilot agreement is scheduled for the end of the month.

Columbia University Student Workers UNION Reaches Agreement With College:

Columbia university’s working students reached a trial deal with their school after two years of negotiations amid a job crisis. The approximately 3,000 graduate and undergraduate students that make up the student workers of Columbia (SWC) have yet to vote to formally approve the agreement. According to a union announcement, it includes employee pay increases, dental coverage, access to arbitration or mediation for harassment complaints, and child benefit increases.

The voting period for the approval of the agreement will run from 22 to 27 January. The agreement will be effective retroactively from 1 august 2021 and will last until 30 June 2025 if approved. Negotiations for the next contract will begin on May 1, 2025. SWC members, meanwhile, voted to end their 10-week strike on Friday, with nearly 94% of members agreeing to end the strike. This was the second union strike in a year.

Because of its uniqueness, perhaps the most notable inclusion in the pilot agreement is the ability of club members to seek external arbitration or mediation for allegations of harassment and discrimination, even those related to gender discrimination submitted to a school office. Of title ix. Students working at Harvard University also gained access to arbitration in their employment contracts, but not for title-ix matters.

Under the pilot agreement, student employees can apply for mediation 75 days after reporting harassment/discrimination. Or after equal opportunities and affirmative action (EOAA) decision has been made. UNION members filing a title ix complaint must go through both the traditional EOAA decision-making process and exhaust the appeals process to seek arbitration in their case.

Students Will Retroactively Increase at Least 4% in This Academic Year:

UNION members will also have access to higher wages if this agreement is approved by the end of the month. The SWC has revealed that the minimum wage for hourly wage earners will increase from $ 15 an hour to $ 21 an hour once the agreement is ratified. This minimum will increase by an additional $ 0.50 for the remaining three years of the agreement.

Pay for Columbia university PhD. Students will retroactively increase at least 4% in this academic year, plus an additional 2% to cover UNION contributions. Their salary will increase by 3% in each of the next three years. The agreement also includes equal pay between the various research doctorates. Programs. Postgraduate and undergraduate students are in line for a retroactive salary increase of at least 5% this year, with a 3 % increase in each of the next three years.

Columbia university will also cover 75% of a working student’s dental premium under the interim agreement. The members of the association with children will see an increase in the child allowance of $ 4,500 for the current academic year. $ 500 increases will take place over the next two school years.

Achieving these significant improvements in our working conditions in Colombia has not been an easy process. The SWC Negotiating committee, said in a statement. Mary Boyce, a professor of engineering at Columbia University, said in a letter to the students. That she did not expect the ratification process of the three-week agreement to prevent the start of the next semester on January 18.