On Monday, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Amy Hungerford announced compensation and stipend increases for student employees, after a cancelled bargaining session with the Student Workers of Columbia (SWC).

On Monday, October 6, Dean and Executive Vice President of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Amy Hungerford and Special Advisor to Acting President Claire Shipman Cas Holloway announced a series of compensation and stipend increases for student employees in an email amid ongoing tensions with the Student Workers of Columbia (SWC) union over contract negotiations. 

According to the announcement, PhD students, both those holding teaching and research appointments in a guaranteed year of support, and those beyond their guaranteed years of funding will receive a 3% boost to their stipends. The change will take effect for the pay period beginning October 16, 2025, with payments issued on November 7, 2025. Stipends reflecting the increase will be issued the week of October 27, 2025, prorated from the October 16 effective date. Undergraduate, master’s, and non-PhD doctoral program students will also receive a 3% raise, with minimum hourly wage for student employees increasing from $22.50 to $23.00. 

The day before Hungerford’s email, SWC posted a statement on Instagram regarding the cancellation of a previously agreed upon October 6 meeting by the University. The statement highlights the University’s lack of response when SWC members suggested, in an email sent to the University on October 1, booking a larger bargaining meeting spot to accommodate for the anticipated 250+ attendees from SWC bargaining committees and observers that would not fit into The Interchurch Robing Room. 

According to SWC’s statement, the University was unresponsive for two days, despite follow-ups and the SWC Contrast Campaign Committee securing an alternative neutral meeting place at Trinity Lutheran Church. The University responded on Friday afternoon, claiming that the Interchurch Robing Room accommodates “a reasonable number of observers”, and that they do not believe Trinity Lutheran Church is “an appropriate space to conduct contract bargaining.”

Hungerford’s announcement to the student body claims the SWC has made “little progress in negotiating a successor contract since our first and only bargaining session in March.” According to the email, SWC’s delegation arrived late to the scheduled meeting on October 6 and refused to stay to negotiate future meetings, asking instead for email replies from University administration. 

The email concludes by directing recipients to the full update on the October 6 bargaining session, and additional information from the “current negotiations” tab, both on the student benefits website.

In a post on October 7, SWC claimed the University told the union they would only engage in a “non-bargaining meeting.” In the post, SWC restated the union’s goals, including to “get cops off of campus, protect non-citizen workers, and offer speedy resolutions for contract violations.” SWC members will be meeting this week to strengthen collective plans, and encourage the rest of the Columbia community to join.

Email from Dean and Executive Vice President of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Amy Hungerford to the Columbia community on October 6, 2025 at 9:46 pm:

Dear Students and Faculty,

As you are aware, the University and the Student Workers of Columbia union (SWC) have made little progress in negotiating a successor contract since our first and only bargaining session in March. Information on our most recent bargaining attempt is available. Still, the University remains fully committed to supporting our graduate student community and student employees.

Columbia has some of the finest young scholars in the world, who are focused on their coursework, teaching, and research, and who contribute much to making Columbia the great institution that it is. Accordingly, although the University continues to navigate difficult financial headwinds that will persist for the foreseeable future, Columbia will implement the following increases to student support, applied pro rata effective October 16, 2025:

• Compensation will increase by 3% for PhD student employees who hold a teaching or research appointment in a guaranteed year of support in GSAS, SEAS, the VP&S Coordinated Doctoral Programs in Biomedical Sciences, the School of Nursing, the Columbia Business School, the Mailman School of Public Health, GSAPP, Journalism, SIPA, and the School of Social Work. This increase will apply to the pay period beginning October 16, which is paid on November 7. PhD students receiving stipends at an on-appointment rate, including those beyond their guaranteed years of funding who have been released from teaching duties, will also receive 3% increases. Stipends payments will be issued the week of October 27, reflecting the increase for fall, prorated from the October 16 effective date.
• PhD students not on appointment in guaranteed years of funding will also receive 3% increases to their minimum support stipends. Stipends payments will be issued the week of October 27, reflecting the increase for fall, prorated from the October 16 effective date.
• In each academic unit, compensation will increase by 3% for undergraduate students, Master’s students, non-PhD doctoral students, and PhD students beyond their guaranteed years of support who hold appointments as Teaching Assistants, Teaching Fellows, Preceptors, Readers, Teaching Assistants III, Graduate Research Assistants and Department Research Assistants. This increase will apply to the pay period beginning October 16, which is paid on November 7.
• The University will also increase the minimum hourly rate for student employees who perform instructional or research work from $22.50/hour to $23.00/hour, starting October 20, 2025.

With the academic year now well underway, the University is disappointed that the union has not returned to the bargaining table or responded to the University’s proposals. Most recently, after canceling an agreed-upon bargaining session on September 11, without explanation, SWC refused to bargain at a scheduled meeting today, October 6. The union has posted that the University “canceled” today’s session. The University’s bargaining team was present at the neutral Interchurch location from the agreed-upon start time and remained ready to bargain. SWC’s delegation arrived an hour late to present demands but would not stay to negotiate or discuss scheduling future sessions, asking instead for email replies. The full update on the scheduled October 6 bargaining session is available.

Additional information regarding negotiations is available under the Current Negotiations tab on the Student Benefits website.

Thank you for everything you do to support our community and advance Columbia’s teaching and research mission.

Sincerely,

Amy Hungerford
Dean and Executive Vice President, Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Cas Holloway
Special Advisor to Acting President Claire Shipman

Editor’s Note (10/10/2025): This article was updated to correct the spelling of the Interchurch Robing Room.

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