Columbia graduate workers defy UAW, vote down sellout contract
On Friday evening, graduate workers at Columbia University officially rejected the concessionary Tentative Agreement (TA) endorsed by their union, the Graduate Workers of Columbia (GWC) affiliated with the United Auto Workers union (UAW). The results were 970 “yes” votes to approve the contract to 1,093 “no” to reject the contract. The union reported that 62 percent of eligible voters in the unit cast a ballot.
Columbia Graduate workers picketing (Source: WSWS Media)
The vote is a devastating blow to the UAW and the majority of the GWC Bargaining Committee who ferociously endorsed the contract despite overwhelming opposition from the rank and file. Union officials, shocked and furious at the vote tally, were silent for one long minute after the results were revealed in a general body meeting called for 5:00 p.m. After their initial shock wore off, the UAW officials ended the call without any discussion. Rank-an
UAW tries to shut down Volvo Truck strike in Virginia as Columbia University grad students vote down union-backed sellout deal
Workers at Volvo Truck in New River, Virginia have erupted in outrage over the attempt by the United Auto Workers to shut down their powerful strike aimed at regaining past concessions. On Friday the union announced it had reached a tentative agreement on a five-year deal and ordered the 3,000 workers to take down picket lines and prepare to return to work Sunday without releasing any contract details.
Striking Volvo workers [Source: Facebook, UAW Local 2069]
The Volvo settlement was announced the same day that graduate student teaching assistants at Columbia University in New York City voted down a sellout deal the UAW affiliate on campus had attempted to impose on them.
Bernie Sanders intervenes in NYU graduate student strike as UAW prepares sell-out
The strike of 2,000 New York University (NYU) graduate students is nearing the end of its first week. As the United Auto Workers (UAW), with which the Graduate Student Organizing Committee (GSOC) is affiliated, is stepping up efforts to shut it down as quickly as possible, the Democratic Party is heavily intervening in the strike.
A vote at Columbia University on a sell-out contract negotiated by the UAW behind the backs of the membership is ending today, on April 30. Many graduate students are opting to vote no and there is widespread anxiety about a possible rigging of the vote, something for which the UAW is notorious. At NYU, finals are beginning next week, the UAW is clearly pushing to shut down the NYU strike as quickly as possible.
NYU seeks to break graduate student strike as many Columbia graduate students vote “no” on sell-out contract
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Two major graduate struggles are unfolding just six miles from one another in New York City. Some 2,000 graduate students at New York University (NYU) are entering their third day of a strike for higher wages and better health care, just as many graduate students at Columbia University (CU) are deciding to vote “no” on a contract that would result in a pay cut for them in the first year.
Administrations at both schools have taken an intransigent position in the negotiations and employed ruthless tactics against the students aimed at breaking the strikes. At Columbia, the university docked workers’ pay during the strike in order to impose economic pressure.
Graduate students at New York University go on strike The IYSSE at NYU will be hosting a meeting, “A socialist perspective for Columbia and NYU graduate students,” on Wednesday, April 28, at 7 p.m. We encourage graduate students, undergraduates and workers from the New York City area to attend.
On Monday, 2,000 graduate students at New York University began a strike on the eve of the finals period. The students are organized under the Graduate Student Organizing Committee (GSOC), which is affiliated with the United Auto Workers (UAW). The graduate students are demanding higher wages and better health care and child care benefits. They also demand that the New York Police Department (NYPD) be removed from campus and that international and immigrant students receive better protection.