The Student Workers of Columbia-United Auto Workers, representing 3,000 graduate students, has dropped its demand for the university to divest from companies doing business with Israel. The decision marks a significant shift for the group as it continues contract negotiations with Columbia University.
"You start off a campaign with one thing, and then as you bargain, you have to face the realities of where you are," said Grant Miner, president of the Student Workers of Columbia-United Auto Workers, in comments reported by The Columbia Spectator. The union had previously included divestment from companies allegedly in violation of "international law" as a key demand.
The negotiations between the student union and the university have been ongoing since last year and had reached a stalemate. Previously, a Columbia investment committee had rejected similar student demands for divestment, citing vagueness, a lack of campus consensus, and financial non-viability, according to The Times of Israel.
The broader "divestment" movement advocates for withdrawing investments from companies that conduct business with Israel. Columbia University became a focal point for anti-Israel protests in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, which led to the ongoing war.
During the spring 2024 semester, students organized a "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" on the university's South Lawn, which lasted for several weeks. The protests and encampments at Columbia were part of a wider wave of demonstrations at universities across the United States.