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After a monthlong strike over stalled negotiations for a first union contract, Columbia University’s graduate student union this week reached a tentative agreement with institution. A ratification vote starts today. The United Auto Workers-affiliated union said on its website that Columbia’s final proposal package “would codify important economic improvements, strengthen equity and inclusion at Columbia, establish numerous workplace rights for student workers and create a foundation for a strong union moving into the future.”
Key contract provisions include improved recourse on discrimination and harassment -- up to review by an independent arbitrator -- along with funding support for Ph.D. students who need to change advisers due to discrimination or harassment. Other highlights are expanded rights for international student workers, bigger annual pay increases, protections against late pay, workload protections with an expedited grievance process and the doubling of childcare subsidies from $2,000 to $4,000 per child per year.
Ira Katznelson, Columbia's interim provost, said in a statement, "We are pleased to have reached a historic tentative agreement" that "advances the interests of our graduate workers and strengthens the university academically and as an employer." In all, he said, the agreement "marks a significant milestone in the university’s relationship with our graduate students, who contribute to the overall success of the university."
Regarding the revised harassment and discrimination processes, which were some of the last contract details to be settled, a Columbia spokesperson said they include an appeal to a trained, independent appellate officer from outside the university. The revisions also allow students more grounds for appeal for complaint findings: if the investigator had a conflict of interest or bias, if there were disputed issues or questions about the interpretation of a university policy and if the complainant’s allegations were substantiated, but the proposed changes to working conditions are insufficiently protective or unnecessarily disruptive.
Under the tentative contract, interviews of the parties involved in the complaint and witnesses will be recorded and made available to the complainant and respondent. Both parties will also have the right to inspect, review and respond to evidence prior to the conclusion of a university investigation to see the investigative report when it's complete.
