Update on Negotiations with SWC Union

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

When our negotiations with the Student Workers of Columbia union (SWC) began in March of this year, we were hopeful that we would reach a fair and competitive successor agreement before the expiration of our existing contract on June 30. The compensation offer we made several weeks ago, to which the union still has not responded, provides our student employees with a competitive pay increase and pay parity between the 9-month and 12-month PhD cohorts at a time of unprecedented financial uncertainty for the University that has left no department or business unit untouched. Unfortunately, the agreement expired earlier this week, and we know there will be questions about what this means. The University will maintain the status quo with respect to compensation and terms of employment while we continue to make every effort to reach a successor agreement with the SWC. 

The University remains committed to reaching an agreement that builds upon the first contract we reached with the union in January 2022, which was overwhelmingly ratified by the SWC’s membership. It was in this spirit that the University put forward a good faith compensation proposal on June 9 that addresses wages, benefits, and other employment-related issues central to a successor contract. Our proposals are designed to support the more than 3,000 student employees represented by the SWC, as a reflection of their significant contributions to our vibrant academic community and to enable their success while attracting top talent to Columbia in the years to come. Details on the University’s compensation and benefits proposals can be found here.

As of today, the SWC has not responded to our compensation offer nor to any of the noneconomic and benefits proposals the University has put forward, nor has the union presented any of its own proposals. We are disappointed with the lack of progress in negotiations and with the fact that we have met only once to bargain, on March 28, despite the University proposing 15 other dates for bargaining sessions, as well as alternative locations for meeting in-person with observers.

Based on what the SWC has stated publicly, its demands, should they return to the bargaining table, are largely outside the scope of collective bargaining. Additionally, SWC has conditioned bargaining on participation of its president, a former student who was expelled following a full and legitimate student disciplinary process; and ability to conduct bargaining sessions over Zoom. The University will not meet with a particular representative where, as here, that individual’s past conduct makes good faith bargaining impossible, and the law does not require that we do so.

As it relates to Zoom, laws governing collective bargaining stipulate that parties cannot refuse to negotiate based on the demand for streaming bargaining sessions, because streaming such sessions is not a term and condition of employment and therefore not a mandatory subject of bargaining. The University has communicated to the SWC that collective bargaining, including with other unions on campus, is typically conducted in person through members of the parties’ bargaining committees, which allows the parties to maintain constructive focus; promote the development of trusting relationships; protects against doxing; misleading quotation and mischaracterization of negotiations on social media and other forums; and encourages the candid and robust discussions most likely to produce an agreement in an efficient manner. This practice aligns with how other universities have and are currently conducting bargaining with their student unions, including at Cornell, Harvard, and Penn.

It is our hope that the union, now with a lapsed contract, will seriously consider the competitive offer we have made and come to the table to work with us on a successor contract. The University is willing and eager to work with the SWC to reach an agreement in the next few weeks on a fair and competitive successor contract that serves all students and the whole Columbia community.

Sincerely,

Amy Hungerford, Dean and Executive Vice President, Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Cas Holloway, Chief Operating Officer