Lawsuit targets university labor union, professional group in bid to fight antisemitism
September 10, 2024
Arecently filed lawsuit accuses university labor unions and professional associations of being complicit in the disruptive anti-Israel protests that roiled U.S. campuses after Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.
The August 5 lawsuit accuses the Columbia/Barnard Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (C/B-AAUP) and Student Workers of Columbia-UAW (SWC-UAW). The plaintiffs are pseudonymous students of Columbia University.
The defendants are accused of being complicit in depriving the plaintiffs of the benefit of substantial funds spent on a Columbia University education.
“These students paid tens of thousands of dollars in tuition and fees for a full semester of classes and access to campus facilities,” according to a press package for the complaint.
“They were denied what they purchased because of the dangers created by the encampment,” in which the defendants were allegedly complicit, the press package alleges.
The lawsuit seeks damages from one or both of the groups for negligence, breach of contract to a third-party beneficiary, civil conspiracy and aiding and abetting a tort.