ITHACA, N.Y. — Workers at Cornell University, represented by the United Auto Workers, are in the midst of voting on whether or not to authorize a strike as labor contract negotiations have reached a gridlock.
UAW officials have threatened to strike if the university doesn’t meet them at the bargaining table with a contract that reflects the union’s demands, but months of negotiations haven’t resulted in a proposal both bargaining teams can agree on.
Union officials have said they will strike on move-in day as thousands of students prepare to arrive on Cornell’s campus for the start of the fall semester. About 1,200 workers at the Ivy League institution are represented by the union, the majority of which are custodians, food service workers, and groundskeepers.
Workers began to vote on a strike authorization on Tuesday, and have until Thursday to cast their ballots. If workers do strike, it would be the first time in decades. The ongoing vote will prove if the UAW Local 2300 can follow through on its warnings, and has the potential to sway Cornell at the bargaining table.
In response to a request for comment, UAW Local 2300 president Christine Johnson called the strike vote turnout “unprecedented” in any of the 19 years she worked at Cornell. Johnson did not specify the specific number of workers that have voted so far, but she said, “We feel that fully half of the membership already utilized their vote as their voice just today.”
A university spokesperson did not directly respond to questions about how Cornell would handle a strike. The spokesperson said that Cornell understands that the UAW is in the process of holding a strike authorization vote, and remains “committed to bargaining in good faith and reaching a fair and reasonable contract.”
Ellen Dichner, distinguished lecturer of labor studies at the City University of New York School of Labor and Urban Studies, said, “The right to strike is the union’s most effective tool when it feels that the employer is not adequately responding to its demands and bargaining.” She added that “in my experience, workers do not go on strike lightly.”
In 2023, a wave of strikes by organized labor across the country tipped the outcome of a heavy year of contract negotiations and resulted in major wage increases for workers represented by the UAW, Teamsters, and other unions.
“If Cornell responds in the way that a lot of these other employers have responded, when faced with the pressure imposed by a strike, then one would hope Cornell, too, would take seriously the union’s demands,” Dichner said.
Cornell and the UAW appear to have starkly different ideas of what a fair labor contract would include. The average worker in the bargaining unit makes about $22, according to the UAW, which has said it wants the contract to include wage increases of 25% to 30% of the next four years in order to keep up with the rising cost of living. Cornell’s offers would increase wages for the average worker by about 11% over the same term.
In addition to raises, the UAW is demanding that the contract include cost-of-living adjustments that would increase workers compensation alongside inflation.
Union officials and workers have contended that Cornell can afford the raise that the union has been demanding. The university’s $9.6 billion endowment — often a talking point used by local officials seeking greater contributions from Cornell — has been repeatedly highlighted by the union.
In a video posted online on Aug. 12, UAW President Sean Fain framed the union’s contract negotiation with Cornell as the “fight to take on the billionaire class” coming to Ithaca. He said that Cornell is “hoarding its immense wealth while denying its workers a living wage.”
Aris Giles, a custodian who has worked at Cornell for eight years, said she was ready to strike if she had to. She said Cornell has the money to pay her and its other workers more.
“I am very nice, but I am not nice enough to go above and beyond without it being compensated,” Giles said.