Back in the spring, we spoke with three graduate student workers at Columbia University who were on strike with the Student Workers of Columbia union, UAW Local 2110. After rank-and-file members rejected the tentative agreement between the university and the bargaining committee, negotiations continued. However, Columbia has still failed to meet key demands, including better wages, dental and vision healthcare coverage, and third-party arbitration for cases involving harassment and discrimination. Now, Student Workers of Columbia are back on strike and have been on the picket line since Nov. 3. In this mini-cast, we talk with three graduate student workers, Joanna Lee, Tamara Hache, and Caroline Smith, about the current strike and how academic workers are an essential part of the labor movement.
Additional links/info below…
- Student Workers of Columbia, UAW Local 2110 website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
- Hardship Fund for Columbia Student Workers #CUonStrike
- Working People, “Mini-cast: Columbia Is a Bully (w/ Joanna Lee, Harlan Chambers, & Cameron Foltz)“
- Joanna’s Twitter page
- Tamara’s Twitter page
- Caroline’s Twitter page
- Ashley Wong, The New York Times, “Why Columbia Student Workers Are Back On Strike“
- Rachel Himes, Jacobin, “Why Columbia Graduate Workers Like Me Are on Strike“
- Benjamin Stein, Columbia Spectator, “Columbia Endowment Soars Up 32.3 Percent to $14.35 Billion as Markets Recover from COVID-19 Recession”
Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive at freemusicarchive.org): Jules Taylor, “Working People Theme Song”
Transcript
The transcript of this interview will be made available as soon as possible.
This post was originally published on The Real News Network.