Early Monday afternoon, the Graduate Workers of Columbia-UAW (GWC-UAW) released an open letter to President Bollinger, in which it declared to hold a strike authorization vote if the university did not honor the union’s existence.

As part of graduate students’ 3-year-long struggle to unionize on Columbia’s campus, this letter comes as a response to Columbia’s January announcement that it would not recognize GWC-UAW, and instead would take the case to a federal court. In its call for Columbia’s recognition, GWC-UAW cited its broad-based support from students, faculty, RAs, student councils, TAs, and alumni alike.

If Columbia continued refusing to recognize graduate student unions, GWC-UAW stated that it would “hold a strike authorization vote.” While this act does not necessarily directly constitute a strike, it is a significant step in, and an indicator of GWC-UAW’s willingness for, organizing a strike that would greatly impact campus operations.