The biggest open-ended strike in America is happening at Columbia University in New York City. As of November 18, following the ratification of the John Deere union contract the night before, the Student Workers of Columbia (SWC)-UAW Local 2110 unit of 3,600 student workers is now the largest striking body in the country. Their strike, the second they’ve launched in 2021, initially began on November 3, and entered into mediation with the university on Monday.
After an October so flooded with union activism the media christened it “Striketober,” student workers at Columbia are continuing the rush of labor organizing. Teen Vogue speaks to three Columbia graduate and undergraduate student workers about how they got involved in the union and what’s at stake for them, students across the country, and workers.