SWC-UAW And Columbia Are Cautiously Optimistic About Reaching A Contract

Upper West Side NY

05 December, 2021

11:28 AM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY TALIA TRASKOS-HART NOVEMBER 30, 2021 After three sessions with third-party mediator Kevin Flanigan, the Student Workers of Columbia-United Auto Workers and Columbia continue pushing toward an agreement. They hope to make meaningful progress on issues that are not yet resolved, starting with arbitration for discrimination and harassment cases, and dental care coverage. While the union and the University have not made substantial movement since the first mediation session on Nov. 22, both parties remain hopeful that mediation will allow for compromise and produce a contract by the end of the semester. The shift into mediation comes after bargaining sessions failed to produce significant progress toward an agreement that could bridge the vast gap between the parties. The student-workers strike, which started on Nov. 3, has resulted in many union members withholding their labor, as well as organizing to cause UPS delivery stoppages, University event cancellations, and difficulties in teaching. Lilian Coie, a sixth-year doctoral student in the neurobiology department and a member of the SWC–UAW bargaining committee, said that mediation thus far has helped both sides determine where they may be willing to alter their positions. "We've gotten some good indications of areas where the University is willing to move, which is great," she said. "And we have our own similar indications." Charles Pletcher, a sixth-year doctoral student in the classics department and a member of the SWC-UAW, agreed that Flanigan has facilitated each side in identifying potential sources of compromise. "He made it a bit clearer where we might be able to find common ground with the management," he said. "So for that reason, I remain cautiously optimistic." Provost Mary Boyce wrote in an email to the Columbia community on Nov. 22 that entering mediation is an encouraging step toward finding an agreement. The University maintains this confidence in the potential of the mediation process for driving compromise. "We look forward to continuing mediation and ending the strike as soon as possible," a Columbia spokesperson said in a statement to Spectator. A primary area in which compromise seems possible is on the issue of arbitration. Before the SWC-UAW agreed to move into mediation, the University offered a semester of transitional funding for students leaving abusive or unhealthy advising relationships. The University also suggested the potential to accommodate the union's demands more broadly, specifically regarding arbitration for nondiscrimination and harassment with a mediator present. In recent mediation sessions, the University has suggested a willingness to offer arbitration in cases of discrimination, but not in cases involving Title IX. "It's really good news that there is room to move on cases of discrimination," Coie said. "Obviously, getting arbitration for Title IX is a priority for us. But we seem to be getting closer together." Dental coverage is another divide that might be bridged in upcoming mediation sessions. The University has suggested to Flanigan a willingness to offer dental premiums to a limited number of students. The bargaining committee now has to decide whether and how to dole out coverage to only a limited number of union members. "It will be about where the union is willing to cut people out in order to get premiums for some people," Coie said. These potential compromises build upon the University's tentative contract from last spring. The tentative agreement produced from mediation did not include access to third-party arbitration and offered more limited dental protection. Coie, who also served on the bargaining committee in the spring, said she is encouraged by this round of mediation, as opposed to their previous experience with federal mediator Andrea Cancer, largely because of Flanigan's more relevant background. "He seems to be much more well-read on the issues," she said. "We're able to do things much more efficiently, because he is such an expert in collective bargaining agreements in higher education." If an agreement is not reached by the end of the fall semester, Coie said that members of the SWC-UAW will need to vote to reauthorize the strike, which they currently do on a weekly basis. Last week, 90 percent of participating striking workers voted to remain on strike, and Coie doubts that support will dwindle even if the negotiations continue into next semester. She continues to see a determination among union members to continue striking until a contract is reached. "It's really going to lie on the strikers' shoulders," Coie said. "To be honest, I don't see that number changing." Professor Roberto Corrada, an expert in contracts and labor law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, explained that success in future mediation sessions will depend on both parties' continued readiness to compromise. "A key thing in mediation is whether the parties are motivated to reach an agreement," he said. "It seems to me like both sides would be very motivated to reach an agreement. So mediation may actually work." Coie has high hopes for the next mediation session on Dec. 1. "[Flanigan] told us to be prepared to work all night," she said. "Hopefully this will be the session where we get the most movement … and see what a contract could actually look like." Staff writer Talia Traskos-Hart can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @taliakth. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.