The labor union representing the custodial staff involved in the recent anti-Israel building occupation at Columbia University has initiated legal proceedings against the university for its management of the tumultuous protests.
The Transport Workers Union filed a lawsuit against Columbia University, alleging a lack of protection for its employees during the violent takeover of Hamilton Hall on April 30.
Union President John Samuelsen appeared on “Fox & Friends” to explain the reasons behind the union’s decision to take legal action against the university regarding its handling of the disorderly demonstration.
“First of all, Columbia should have never put the custodians or the security officer in that position, and that’s at the heart of the matter,” Samuelsen told co-host Ainsley Earhardt on Thursday. “Columbia showed an epic disregard and epically failed to protect the workforce. They knew that this was a potential. They knew that that building was likely going to be stormed and taken over, and yet they assigned the work there anyway.”
“They should have never done it,” he continued. “It’s been an epic failure, and I think it’s part and parcel with the overall Ivy League snark that Columbia demonstrates over and over toward the blue-collar workforce.”
As reported by the New York Post, a minimum of two custodians and one security guard were present on duty during the evening of April 30 when the disorderly, masked protesters seized control of the academic facility.
“How the hell am I going to get out of here now? You see the chaos… and you start hearing them and what they’re doing, and you’re like… this is a movie,” according to one of the employees who shared their account with The Free Press following the intrusion of pro-Hamas demonstrators into Hamilton Hall.
The group vandalized the building by breaking windows, barricading doors with furniture, and covering the windows to obstruct visibility.
Following his release, a worker who was inside the building stated that “They held me hostage,” as reported by the student newspaper Columbia Spectator.
Disorder erupted around 12:30 a.m. as anti-Israel demonstrators, who had been camping on Columbia’s Manhattan campus with around 120 tents, forcefully entered Hamilton Hall, a building typically utilized by the dean.
The situation intensified significantly following Columbia University’s decision to start suspending students who refused to vacate the encampment, leading to a major escalation of tensions.
As per the report, the worker left the building at approximately 12:40 a.m. “Everybody in the building, the entire TW workforce in the building was fearful, and rightfully so,” Samuelsen said. “They stormed in, but in particular, two of the custodians had to fight their way out. They were explicitly told, you’re staying here. You’re not going anywhere. This cause is bigger than you.”
“Imagine that. Imagine two kinds of smarmy, sort of entitled, spoiled, bratty occupiers of the building come in and tell these blue-collar men and women, you’re not going anywhere,” he continued. “You’re staying here because this cause is bigger than you, when they had to get home to their families. It’s outrageous. It’s an affront to workers everywhere.”
In the end, law enforcement apprehended 282 individuals and took steps to dismantle unauthorized encampments. The New York Police Department disclosed that half of the arrested individuals were external instigators with no affiliation to the universities.
“We were appalled. I think that workers everywhere should be appalled,” Samuelsen said. “And just to be clear, it wasn’t every protester and not every protester at Columbia has been hostile to our workforce. We’re particularly incensed at Columbia, for not protecting the workers and particularly pissed at those particular protesters that tried to hold our workers in the building.”
