Cornell University service and maintenance workers are back on the job Tuesday after ratifying a new contract on Labor Day.
UAW union members began their strike on Aug. 18, as over 8,000 students returned to Cornell’s campus. Workers stayed on the picket line through the first week of school. The union’s previous contract expired in June, leading to months of tense negotiations between the UAW and the university.
An announcement from the UAW called the new contract “a major win for higher education workers.”
The agreement includes cost-of-living adjustments and wage increases, two major priorities for union members looking to fight inflation and the rising cost of living in Tompkins County.
The UAW said workers will see wage increases of 21% to 25.4% in hourly pay over the four years of the contract. Other contract provisions include longevity bonuses, accommodations for severe weather conditions, and more money allotted to employees to pay for uniforms.
The contract also ended the tiered-wage system, which meant that workers hired before June 30, 1997 made more than employees hired after that cut off, even if they otherwise would have qualified for the same pay.
Over three-quarters of voting union members cast a ballot in favor of the new contract.
The local chapter’s contract win comes amid a national re-energizing of the UAW. Since the election of new leadership in 2023, the union has seen strikes and contract wins, notably at the Big Three Detroit automakers, which includes Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis.
This is a developing story and will be updated as we receive more information.
