Student Workers of Columbia, a union representing roughly 3,500 graduate and undergraduate student workers at Columbia University, has “overwhelmingly” authorized a strike as part of ongoing contract negotiations with the university, including demands for an institutional boycott of Israel.
The union, affiliated with the United Auto Workers, wrote in a social media post on Wednesday that “it’s time to turn up the pressure.” The vote allows union leaders to call a strike at a future date but does not constitute an immediate work stoppage.
Union leaders say their bargaining agenda goes beyond traditional labor issues, including demands tied to recent campus political conflicts. Among the proposals are amnesty and reinstatement for students disciplined after the April 2024 occupation of Hamilton Hall during pro‑Palestinian protests, restrictions on campus police use of force, and removal of university security cameras.
Grant Miner, president of the union, was expelled and banned from campus for his role in the Hamilton Hall takeover, and is still paid $46,000 a year by the union, according to The Free Press.
SWC also opposes Columbia’s academic partnership with Tel Aviv University and the Columbia Tel Aviv Global Center, reflecting broader calls by some students and faculty for institutional disengagement from Israel.
The union is also pushing for significant economic gains. Its contract demands include a minimum annual stipend of at least $76,000 for doctoral student employees working up to 20 hours per week, hourly wages of $36.50 for student workers, and a childcare subsidy of up to $50,000 per child.
In addition, internal documents have shown that SWC proposed broader workplace changes, including protections for noncitizen workers and limits on public safety patrols in union-organizing spaces.
The university has criticized the union’s focus on issues it says fall outside normal employment negotiations, accusing SWC of negotiating in “bad faith” by emphasizing political goals and anti-Israel issues over pay and working conditions.
A strike by SWC, which would require support from the United Auto Workers, could disrupt classes and research, given the central role student workers play in teaching and scholarship at the university. However, no strike date has been set, and authorization does not guarantee that one will occur.
