ITHACA, N.Y. —Service and maintenance workers at Cornell University began a strike Sunday night, just as thousands of students were preparing to return to campus for the fall semester. The United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2300, which represents about 1,200 workers including cafeteria staff, custodians, and groundskeepers, initiated the strike after months of contract negotiations with the university failed to yield an agreement.
The union is demanding higher wages, cost of living adjustments (COLA), and free parking for workers. UAW Local 2300 President Christine Johnson said the university has not bargained in good faith and accused Cornell of stalling negotiations. “Workers at Cornell are fed up with being exploited and used. The university would much rather hoard its wealth and power than pay its workers fairly,” Johnson said in a statement released Sunday night.
Cornell, in a joint statement from Interim Provost John Siliciano and Chief Human Resources Officer Christine Lovely, said it has continued to negotiate in good faith and remains committed to reaching a resolution. The university proposed a 17.5% wage increase over four years, while the union has reduced its demand from a 45% increase to 25% over the same period. The average worker in the bargaining unit currently earns about $22 an hour, according to union officials.
The strike is the first of its kind at Cornell in decades and comes as over 8,000 students are set to return to the university. The university has implemented contingency plans to maintain critical services, but Siliciano and Lovely acknowledged the strike has put them in “unprecedented territory.”
Union members began picketing across campus on Monday, coinciding with the university’s move-in day for students. Many workers expressed frustration over their financial struggles, including Maria Dryer, a custodian and single mother of three. “There’s no way I can live being a single mom. I don’t make enough money, I barely make enough money to survive where I’m at,” Dryer told The Ithaca Voice at a rally outside the Cornell CISER building.
The union has also filed unfair labor practice charges against Cornell with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that the university violated federal law during the negotiations. It remains unclear when the two sides will return to the bargaining table .