Update on Negotiations with SWC Union

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

As most of you no doubt know, the current collective bargaining agreement with Columbia’s student research and teaching employees will expire this June 30. Accordingly, the University and the Student Workers of Columbia union (SWC) began discussions in February about negotiations on a successor contract. The University entered this process focused on achieving a timely, fair, and competitive contract – before the current contract expires – that builds upon the first agreement that SWC membership overwhelmingly ratified in January 2022. We write today to provide an update on the negotiations – including the compensation offer the University has proposed.

We wish we had more progress to report. To date, the University and the SWC have held one in-person bargaining session on March 28, but no constructive progress was made. Additional sessions were scheduled on April 14, April 25, May 9, and June 9, but no meetings were held due to the union’s preconditions about format and attendance at the bargaining sessions. Over this period, in an effort to engage the union on the terms and conditions of employment that affect all student employees and that comprise the subjects of labor contracts, the University provided multiple contract article proposals that amounted to a full set of non-economic proposals and a proposal on benefits for a successor contract. The SWC has not responded to these proposals and has not offered any proposals of its own.

Nonetheless, recognizing the importance of supporting our talented student employees, on June 9 the University put forward a compensation proposal to anchor a total contract package that is strong, competitive, and fair. Even in this period of funding uncertainty for the University, in which faculty, postdocs, and other colleagues across the University are facing extremely difficult circumstances, we made it a priority to make a good faith offer that will serve well both the more than 3,000 student employees the SWC represents and the Columbia community as a whole. Although the offer will require that many of the University’s academic units stretch significantly to fund it, we believe it is the right way to invest our resources, keeping us competitive with our peers. You can read the University’s compensation offer, along with its other contract proposals, here.

Highlights of the University’s offer include, among other things:

• Parity between the 9-month and 12-month funded cohorts, by compensating all fully funded PhD students based on the same 12-month rate—a 15% increase for those on 9-month appointments during the academic year who currently receive summer stipend support. This has long been a key issue for the union; we agree that it will strengthen the University’s ability to continue attracting top student talent.

• A ratified contract by July 1 will achieve parity through an immediate adjustment for those in the 9-month cohort for July and August that will supplement the summer stipend they already received. PhD student employees currently finishing academic year 2024-2025 12-month appointments will receive an immediate 2% adjustment to the salary they will receive in July and August.

• For the 2025-2026 academic year, a minimum 12-month salary increase of 2% above the 2024-2025 academic year to $49,042 during guaranteed years of support. Minimum annual support for student employees on 9-month appointments will increase 15%, to an annual minimum of $48,802.

• In addition, all fully funded PhD students who are not on appointment will receive an annual stipend of $48,080, a 2% increase in the current off-appointment support for the 12-month cohort and a 15.3% increase in the current off-appointment support for the 9-month cohort.
• These increases, at a time of pay freezes across the University, will apply during the 2025-2026 academic year for PhD student employees in GSAS, SEAS, VP&S Coordinated Doctoral Programs in Biomedical Sciences, School of Nursing, School of Business, Mailman School, GSAPP, Journalism, SIPA, and School of Social Work. Further pay increases in subsequent years of the contract will be negotiated during further bargaining.

• A minimum 2% increase in compensation for other student employees represented by the SWC during academic year 2025-2026, with further pay increases in subsequent years of the contract to be negotiated during further bargaining.
• $0 premium health insurance for funded PhD students and their dependents, a rare benefit among peer universities.
• A 75% University contribution to dental plan premiums for funded PhD student employees and their dependents, and available vision coverage.
• A Student Employee Support Fund increased to $425,000 per year to reimburse out-of-pocket medical, dental, and vision expenses, plus a Student Employee Dependent Support Fund totaling $225,000 per year to reimburse dependents’ out-of-pocket health expenses.
• An increase to $5,750/year of the child-care subsidy for each child under age six, among other support for PhD student employee parents.
• Continued guaranteed student housing for PhD students for five academic years.

Additional information about collective bargaining updates and the University’s proposals is available under the Current Negotiations tab of the Student Benefits website.

The University is eager to work with the SWC to finalize the details of this offer. We remain committed to meeting in good faith with the union to reach an agreement before the current contract expires on June 30. We are hopeful the SWC will come to the table focused on the issues central to a successor contract – wages, benefits, and other issues related to employment – and on the well-being of the student employees it represents. We see our student employees as partners in our teaching and research mission, which is why we want to finalize as soon as possible a fair and competitive successor contract that serves all student employees and the whole Columbia community.

Sincerely,

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

Cas Holloway, Chief Operating Officer