Tag Archives for " Columbia University "

NLRB official rejects Columbia objections to grad union vote

Organizing Efforts Rising On College Campuses  

Politico Pro is reporting that the NLRB has rejected arguments from Columbia University over a recent election in which graduate students voted overwhelmingly to be represented by the UAW.

The university had alleged that UAW leadership “improperly coerced ” voters, among other misbehavior, and requested a new election be held.

Zweighaft held a hearing in the board’s Brooklyn office in late January. She issued her report and recommendations on Monday, finding that any irregularities were minor, and advocating the certification of Graduate Workers of Columbia-UAW Local 2110.

“The Employer has failed to demonstrate that any alleged objectionable conduct occurred which could have affected the results of this election, in which the Petitioner prevailed by more than 900 votes,” she wrote. “Accordingly, I have recommended overruling the Employer’s objections in their entirety … I recommend that the Petitioner be certified as the exclusive bargaining representative.”

Olga Brudastova, a civil engineering PhD student and union organizer, said in a statement: “Now that we’ve officially won our union, we can focus on bargaining improvements in a fair contract.”

The university now has until March 20 to file exceptions to Zweighaft’s recommendations. A spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the development.

Read the report and recommendations here.

Go to College, Join a Union!

Go to College, Join a Union

It’s not shocking or anything, but according to a report from Politico Pro, the U.S. Senators from the state of New York are involving themselves in the organizing of graduate students at Columbia University.   This comes on the heels of the organizing at Yale which we wrote about last week in which SEIU and the grad students filed several “micro” unit petitions in an effort to gain several election wins very quickly.

Now comes another typical campaign tactic in the form of using pressure from politicians to elevate the issues and pressure the President at Columbia.

Here’s some of the  letter from the Dem Senators:

In the wake of a National Labor Relations Board ruling last month that said graduate students are employees and may unionize at private universities, the lawmakers urged Columbia to refrain from any actions that might hinder graduate students’ right to do so. They asked that Bollinger commit to an “open, transparent and free” union election process, and that he agree to negotiate a contract should the graduate students vote for union representation.

The senators wrote that Columbia is “fueled in part by countless research and teaching assistants,” and that collective bargaining would help employees “ensure positive working conditions.”