NEW YORK, April 20 (UPI) -- Columbia University graduate teaching assistants boycotted classes and picketed the school Tuesday in New York City for their right to unionize.
With two weeks left in the semester, some graduate assistants said they would boycott classes for the rest of the term, while others said they would only boycott one class, the New York Times reported.
Many undergraduates told the Times they were not concerned about the protest because the university administration told them the action would not disrupt their grades.
The university's graduate students voted two years ago to unionize, but Columbia appealed the students' right to unionize to the National Labor Relations Board and the votes were never counted.
Mainly the graduate students want higher pay and benefits, but some said just the threat of a union forced Columbia to raise its basic graduate student stipend to $17,000 a year.
