Back in August, the Nation Labor Relations Board ruled that graduate students could legally unionize. Today, Provost Coatsworth announced that the NLRB  has scheduled an election to decide whether grad students will henceforth be represented by Local 2110 of the United Auto Workers. Polling will take place next month, December 7th and 8th, at multiple polling locations:

Morningside Heights Campus – Earl Hall
Wednesday, December 7, 2016: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Thursday, December 8, 2016: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Columbia University Medical Center – Alumni Auditorium Lobby
Wednesday, December 7, 2016: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Thursday, December 8, 2016: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Lamont-Doherty – Sutton House
Wednesday, December 7, 2016: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Nevis Laboratory, Irvington, NY – conference room at 136 South Broadway
Thursday, December 8, 2016: 10:00 AM – 12 Noon

Students are urged to visit the Provost’s website, which contains information and resources to consult before making an informed decision.

You can read the full email below:

Dear fellow members of the Columbia community:

The National Labor Relations Board has scheduled a union election on the Columbia campuses to take place on the 7th and 8th of December. The majority of those voting will decide whether student research and teaching assistants will henceforth be represented by Local 2110 of the United Auto Workers.

The NLRB will set up and administer polling places on the Morningside, Medical Center, Lamont, and Nevis campuses. The locations and times for the balloting are as follows:

Morningside Heights Campus – Earl Hall
Wednesday, December 7, 2016: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Thursday, December 8, 2016: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Columbia University Medical Center – Alumni Auditorium Lobby
Wednesday, December 7, 2016: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Thursday, December 8, 2016: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Lamont-Doherty – Sutton House
Wednesday, December 7, 2016: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Notices will be posted on campus with a description of the job titles that are eligible to vote. Students are expected to vote at the polling place on the campus where they are appointed or have been appointed in the past. For more information on eligibility, click here. (The University will be sending out additional information in the coming days to those eligible to vote.) NLRB officials will have a list of the names of students on each campus who are eligible to vote. Students whose names are not on the NLRB list will be asked to fill out a “challenged ballot” that will be reviewed by the NLRB after the other balloting has concluded. The NLRB will commence counting ballots when the polls close and will announce the results as soon as they are available.

I urge all eligible student voters to inform themselves about the potential impact of unionization. The website https://unionization.provost.columbia.edu/ contains helpful information, including “frequently asked questions” on unionization, factual information on University policies (including stipends and benefits), and documents such as the text of the NLRB decision and the NYU contract with Local 2110. The union’s website is www.columbiagradunion.org.

The unionization of student research and teaching assistants at Columbia would bring significant change to the University. We hope our academic community will consider this change thoughtfully and weigh its potential impact. Above all, we encourage all eligible voters to make sure to vote!

John H. Coatsworth
Provost