Dear fellow members of the Columbia community,
I am writing to salute the overwhelming ratification of the agreement reached at the close of June with Columbia Postdoctoral Workers (CPW-UAW). In the midst of a wrenching period for higher education, it is good to catch up on positive news.
This contract marks a significant milestone in the University’s relationship with postdoctoral researchers and associate research scientists and scholars. The agreement’s provisions reflect rigorous, respectful, and mutually successful negotiations. They establish how Columbia will operate in areas of substantial importance to researchers and scholars, indeed to the University as a whole. With the agreement now finalized, its provisions will begin to be fully implemented.
It is a credit to the negotiators for the Union and the University that complex matters were resolved by constructive concession. A shared commitment to intellectual accomplishment and personal fulfillment guided the interlocutors. We all take pride in how these goals have been advanced.
As I write, negotiations with representatives of the Graduate Workers of Columbia (GWC-UAW) are ongoing. The University aspires to achieve a fair and thoughtful set of arrangements as expeditiously as possible.
With anticipation,
Ira
Ira Katznelson
Interim Provost
Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History
