GWC-UAW Bargaining Committee to present contract for ratification vote
GWC-UAW Bargaining Committee to present contract for ratification vote Kathy Fang / Columbia Daily Spectator Monday afternoon’s “Rally for 3rd Party Arbitration” on Low Steps. The proposed contract does not include access to neutral, third-party arbitration. By Talia Abrahamson | April 19, 2021, 10:04 PM
The Bargaining Committee for the Graduate Workers of Columbia–United Auto Workers announced Monday that after over two years of bargaining with Columbia for the union’s first labor contract, it is ready to present the contract for a ratification vote.
If ratified, the contract will greatly expand the rights of student-workers; it has 31 articles, ranging from increased benefits and compensation to child care support, that will inject millions of dollars into resources for student-workers. It is now up to the bargaining unit to decide whether or not the contract goes far enough. Although it me
Vote “no” on the UAW sellout of Columbia University graduate strike!
On Monday afternoon, the Bargaining Committee for the Graduate Workers of Columbia (GWC), an affiliate of the United Auto Workers (UAW), agreed to a tentative contract with the university that imposes a de facto pay cut in the first year. The BC accepted the tentative agreement in direct opposition to the will of rank-and-file members, who must still vote on the deal.
The contract does not come close to meeting any of the graduate student workers’ original demands, including increased wages, child care, dental, third party arbitration and summer stipends. The three-year contract also includes a “no-strike clause” and guarantees the deduction of two percent of their wages for union dues payments to the UAW.
2,900 Volvo Truck workers walk out in Virginia, joining ongoing strikes by coal miners, steelworkers, nurses
On Saturday, 2,900 workers at Volvo Trucks’ New River Valley plant in Dublin, Virginia, walked off the job, demanding higher wages and improved health and safety measures, benefits and job security. The walkout has begun amid a renewed growth of strikes and other forms of class struggle in the US and in other countries.
Volvo Truck workers had voted by an overwhelming 96.8 percent to strike in February. However, the United Auto Workers union ignored the strike mandate for months, extending the previous contract by 30 days, which gave the company time to prepare strikebreaking operations.
Columbia graduate workers: Reject UAW concessions and Columbia s final offer ! wsws.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wsws.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Yes, Columbia University has the resources to meet graduate workers’ needs
The struggle of 3,000 Columbia University graduate student-workers for decent pay, health care, child care and other benefits is at a critical turning point. Over the course of this week, negotiators from the Graduate Workers of Columbia (GWC) union and Columbia management are meeting with a federal negotiator, commonly known as “third-party mediation.” The GWC bargaining committee agreed to third-party mediation in exchange for a strike “pause” last week in direct opposition to the will of the rank-and-file members.
The importance of the struggle at Columbia is underscored by the recent 96 percent vote in favor of strike authorization by over 2,000 graduate workers at New York University (NYU). The Columbia and NYU graduate workers are members of the same amalgamated local of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, which is seeking to divide and isolate these struggles and push through concessionary