2021–2022 Columbia University strike

The 2021–2022 Columbia University strike was a labor strike involving graduate student workers at Columbia University in New York City. The strike began on March 15, 2021, and ended on May 13, 2021. However, additional strike action commenced on November 3 and lasted until January 7, 2022, when a tentative agreement with the university was reached. The strike was organized by the Graduate Workers of Columbia–United Auto Workers Local 2110 (SWC–UAW), a labor union representing student workers at the university. The goals of the strike were an increase in wages, increased healthcare and childcare coverage, and third-party arbitration in cases of discrimination and sexual harassment.

While the union voted in March 2020 to authorize strike action, these plans were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in February 2021, still without a labor contract, the union announced their intent to strike the following month. The strike began on March 15 as an open-ended strike action, with no set end date. The strike coincided with a tuition strike that had been coordinated by the local chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America. Picketing and other forms of protest were held at numerous Columbia locations throughout New York City, and multiple elected officials and politicians announced their support for the strikers. On April 19, a contract proposal was submitted for ratification by the union members, but it was rejected in a rank-and-file vote. Following this, a vote was held in early May to determine the future of the strike, with a majority of voters choosing to end the strike, which officially ended on May 13.

Following the end of the strike, on July 3, new leaders for the union were elected who promised to continue to push for a labor contract with the university. Additionally, the name of the union was changed to the Student Workers of Columbia. While negotiations were set to resume on August 25, disagreements between the two groups led to a deadlock in negotiations, and in late September, the union voted to authorize another strike action. This renewed strike action began on November 3 and continued through late 2021 and into early 2022. The union and the university entered mediation on November 22, 2021, after both parties agreed to hire independent labor mediator Kevin Flanigan. The strike continued until January 7, 2022, when the union voted to stop striking after approving a tentative agreement between the university and union that included several concessions to the union, such as increased healthcare and childcare coverage, increased pay, and changes to the arbitration process at Columbia. By a vote of 2,099 to 51, the union approved the contract on January 28.