“The tentative agreement has been ratified, and the strike is officially over,” the UAW Local 2300 website read as of Monday evening.
The United Auto Workers Local 2300 and Cornell have ratified an agreement, endorsed by 77 percent of UAW Local 2300 voters.
Lonnie Everett, a UAW international servicing representative for Region 9, announced the result in a statement posted on the UAW Local 2300 website
“This is a monumental victory, proving that when we come together, we are unstoppable,” Everett wrote.
The statement calls for UAW workers to return to their regular shifts starting as early as 10 p.m. Monday.
Terms of the agreement include a 21 to 25.4 percent wage increase with a cost-of-living adjustment, among other benefits, according to the UAW Local 2300 statement. Altogether, the agreement represents a $43 million contract over the next 4 years.
The agreement follows four months of bargaining and two weeks of strikes, during which Cornell reduced its dining options and recruited former workers to fill the temporarily empty positions.
In an email sent to the Cornell community at noon on Tuesday, administrators encouraged “everyone [to] act with kindness and respect one another’s personal choices, whether that was to strike or to continue working,” as the campus transitions to normal staff levels.
Students without a meal plan that includes swipes were told to continue utilizing non-Cornell dining options, while the University aims to reopen Cornell Dining locations later in the week.
Food trucks will be at various campus locations from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday to increase meal options for non-swipe meal plan holders.
“Welcome back to those who have been on strike,” the University statement read, “and once again thank you to the countless staff and faculty who helped to fill operational gaps caused by the strike and to the community as a whole for your continued patience.”
Update, 9/3, 1:06 p.m.: This article has been updated to include a University statement emailed to the Cornell community on Tuesday.
Julia Senzon is a member of the Class of 2026 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She is the editor-in-chief of the 143rd Editorial Board and was the managing editor of the 142nd Editorial Board. She can be reached at jsenzon@cornellsun.com or 908-672-3047.
Eric Reilly is a graduating senior from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He served as the Assistant Managing Editor on The Sun’s 142nd Masthead and News Editor on the 141st Masthead. He can be reached at ereilly@cornellsun.com.
