On the third full day of Cornell workers’ historic strike, negotiation efforts between the UAW and the University continued. Starting Sunday night, more than 1,000 Cornell custodians, food service workers, mechanics and other University employees announced a strike after failed negotiation efforts over a new contract.
Over 1,200 University workers, who are represented by UAW Local 2300, started their strike at the beginning of move-in week. Among the wide-ranging impacts of the strike include staff shortages and closures of dining halls around campus.
Hiring Retirees
In a statement sent to the Cornell community Monday morning, Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Christine Lovely and Interim Provost John Siliciano discussed alternative staffing assignments and cited the need for contingency plans to “modify service levels” and “relocate staffing.”
A post from the UAW on Instagram on Wednesday featured an email sent to Cornell retirees requesting them to work temporarily to alleviate staff shortages. The email encouraged former employees to work “for only a few hours or more” during the strike to help smooth operations on campus.
“We are reaching out to you, as a member of our Cornell community, to see if you may be willing to work on a temporary basis — whether for only a few hours or more — during this period,” the email read.
According to the email shared by the UAW, Lovely provided former Cornell staff and faculty members with the contact information of temporary worker agencies — Stafkings and Express Employment Professionals.
“We now find ourselves in unprecedented territory and facing staffing challenges,” Lovely wrote in the email. “Your support could make a significant difference in maintaining the smooth operation of our campus during this challenging time.”
In response to Lovely, Jim Morrissette, a retiree who served the University for 32 years as a member of the Cornell Police Department, sent an email expressing support for the workers on strike.
“If I wanted to express my love for the University, in action other than words, I would drive the 450 miles from my home to Ithaca to walk the picket lines with the brave workers who are willing to sacrifice wages for a better Cornell,” Morrissette wrote in the email which he shared with The Sun.
Student Workers
As other University employees continue to strike, many student workers have reported to work as usual since the strike began, including Cornell Dining employees. Some student workers said they risk losing their benefits if they participate in the strike.
Only a few dining locations have opened, operating with limited hours, including Café Jennie, a coffee shop and deli inside The Cornell Store.
Tenzin Dhasel ’25, a student manager at Café Jennie, explained that they had to shut down the deli and espresso machines Monday, only selling pre-packaged meals and snacks. Dhasel told The Sun that she was supposed to work at a dining hall on Central Campus this week, but had to relocate due to the strike.
Dhasel is part of Cornell Dining’s early work program, which offers student employees free early housing and a meal plan if they work at dining locations open before the fall semester begins. The program requires employees to work at least four shifts between Aug. 19 and Aug. 30.
“Cornell Dining did inform us about the strike,” Dhasel wrote in an email to The Sun. “[They] made sure to remind us that if any of the terms of the contract were broken, then we’d have to pay for housing and the meal swipes, if you used those perks.”
Dhasel, who has worked for the dining organization for four years, added that the café was busier than she had ever seen it today.
“It made me realize even more how essential our union workers are,” Dhasel wrote. “They are the backbone of Cornell Dining.”
Ongoing Negotiation Efforts
Picketing continued in and around campus throughout Wednesday, Workers rallied from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Martin Y. Tang Welcome Center, Dairy Bar and A Lot in support of the continued negotiation efforts with the University.
Cornell Media Relations sent The Sun a letter written by Laurie Johnston, senior director of staff and labor relations, to UAW Local 2300 President Christine Johnson on Wednesday.
In the letter, Johnston urged the UAW to consider using a mediator — third parties that help with the bargaining process — during the negotiation process to assist the University in “reaching a mutual resolution of this negotiation.”
Johnston wrote that the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service — an independent agency that provides mediation and conflict resolution for labor-management corporations — appointed a mediator to assist the negotiations in February 2024 “shortly after the UAW’s demand to bargain was filed.” According to the letter, despite the FMCS reaching out to offer their services, there was “little or no response from the UAW.”
In a statement sent Monday afternoon, UAW Region 9 Director Daniel Vicente said that the University only took the ongoing negotiations seriously as the threats of a potential strike became real.
“Cornell had months to get serious about bargaining a fair deal. The University’s high paid, arrogant lawyers thought they could wait until the 11th hour to get serious,” Vicente said. “UAW has brought all its resources to the table in a good faith effort to reach an equitable deal.”
Johnston further explained in her email the “historic nature of the tentative agreements reached by the parties to date,” on 41 subjects which include a cost-of-living adjustment and agreeing to “compensate peer to peer training” to ensure the health and safety of workers.
Johnston highlighted that among other proposals, the University offered to reduce the hiring rate for one year, allowing a 10.3 percent increase in wages for 519 employees of a 1300-person unit. The proposal also calls for the creation of a wage increase for 248 employees who have worked over 10 years, receiving a 9.2 percent increase and a 24 percent increase for 49 employees who have worked for 25 years.
The UAW’s Monday statement said that Cornell’s offer of a 15.5 percent wage increase over four years and an annual cost-of-living adjustment “was deemed insufficient by the union.”
Despite the offer from the University, UAW Local 2300 countered it with a 25 percent wage increase and elimination of tiered wages.
UAW Local 2300 also demanded that workers be given access to free parking.
Johnston ended the email hoping that the two parties can reach an agreement as soon as possible.
“We want to reach a fair and reasonable contract that meets the needs of your members and our employees,” Johnston said.