#CUonstrike trends on twitter after Columbia grad’ workers strike for fair contract
#CUonstrike has captured Twitter and crossed its limit in support as it is trending now.
Thank you to our undergraduate students who have set up a hardship fund in support of our strike. Please consider donating. #CUonStrike #CUContractNow https://t.co/UvOCxXCRjK
— Student Workers of Columbia (@SW_Columbia) March 10, 2021
I support the Columbia grad students' strike. We must stand together with these educators in every way. All NYC educators must support them! #CUonStrike https://t.co/u8SPsdygNK
— Sandy English (@Sandy_English) March 15, 2021
The strike has taken place after more than two years of negotiations with the administration over Columbia University’s first graduate student labor contract.
The struggle comes more than four years after student workers voted to unionize, forming the Graduate Workers of Columbia-United Auto Workers (CWC-UAW). The GWC-UAW union represents about 3,500 of the university’s teaching and research assistants.
It comes on the heels of a graduate student worker strike just last year against the university’s inadequate response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was a tiny seed that got rooted and now became a full-grown tree. The tree is trending now and has included many demands that are more noticeable. Full recognition of the NLRB-certified bargaining unit, real recourse for cases of harassment, and healthcare improvements are some of them.
Students come in support and are tweeting memorable remarks to exhibit their demands. As a Twitter Handle ‘Graduate Workers of Columbia’ tweeted saying ‘Penny wants a fair contract.’ For this purpose, a placard is hanged in a dog’s throat.
