UAW works overtime to end Columbia graduate strike before NYU graduate struggles begin The Graduate Workers of Columbia (GWC), affiliated with the United Auto Workers (UAW) are working overtime to bring the strike by 3,000 graduate workers at Columbia University to a close. The strike is currently on “pause,” a maneuver by the union to wind down the strike under the auspices of federal mediation. This action, carried out behind the backs of graduate students, has triggered overwhelming opposition from rank-and-file members, some of whom are continuing to strike. The UAW is working as quickly as they can in order to prevent a situation in which two strikes at neighboring universities take place at the same time. The graduate worker union at New York University (NYU)—the UAW-affiliated Graduate Student Organizing Committee (GSOC)—has been purposely delaying a strike for months. Earlier this week, GSOC announced a strike deadline of April 26. This follows a vote at NYU, which concluded April 8, showing 96.4 percent of graduate workers in favor of going on strike to demand a living wage from the university.