More than 3,000 research and teaching assistants at Columbia University went on strike March 15 after two years of unsuccessful negotiations with the school over their union’s first contract. Graduate workers are seeking fair wages, expanded healthcare and childcare provisions, as well as protections against discrimination and sexual harassment at work. Now 10 days into their strike, workers say Columbia has threatened to withhold pay for those on the picket line and is spreading anti-union messaging to students.

Paying tuition and rent at Columbia is already a challenge for students, says Yasemin Akçagüner, a graduate student worker. “We are at an $11 billion institution. The president of this institution is getting paid $4.6 million in salary. And the majority of us who make the work of this university possible, who enable its mission, are not able to afford the rents.”

Video credit: Adriano Contreras

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This post was originally published on Radio Free.