With a union, all union decisions – including the decision about whether or not to strike – will be made democratically by student workers. With a union, we will collectively decide what to ask for in bargaining and whether or not a strike is necessary. A strike is a very powerful tool for unionized workers, but a strike would only occur if union members decide a strike is necessary. The decision to strike is made collectively; under the UAW Constitution, two-thirds of workers participating in a strike authorization vote must vote yes in order to authorize a strike. While a strike is most eﬀective if we all participate, it is an individual decision whether or not to do so. Striking is a last resort as a tactic and is rare. Ninety-eight percent of union contracts are reached without a strike. While strikes are rare, it is not uncommon that workers decide it is necessary to prepare for a possible strike in order to convince a university to reach a reasonable agreement during negotiations. At the University of California, for example, the academic researcher union in UAW Local 5810, reached an agreement with the administration after a majority of researchers voted to authorize a strike. At New York University, the graduate employee union GSOC-UAW Local 2110 reached an agreement with NYU after a majority of graduate employees authorized the bargaining committee to call a strike if they deemed one necessary. Columbia postdocs won their first contract shortly after hundreds of postdocs informed the administration that they would start preparing for a strike authorization vote if Columbia did not make greater progress in contract negotiations.