9th Bargaining Session: Dec 2nd, 2024

On Monday, December 2nd, GSEU met with SUNY and the State of New York to hold our ninth bargaining session to negotiate a new contract. Over 120 members of GSEU attended the session to show New York State our strong willingness for a fair contract now and our frustration with how slowly things have been moving.

Here is what happened at the last session:

New Article: Paid Family Leave: The State and SUNY indicated their willingness to work with us going forward to include GSEU members in the current New York State Paid Family Leave Policy, similar to what is offered to UUP members, while at the same time describing the administrative hurdles that will need to be overcome for us to have access to this program. As demographics of graduate workers have shifted over time and more graduate workers are starting families during their time at SUNY, we believe there is a compelling case for both sides to work to overcome these administrative barriers and offer this benefit to future and current graduate workers. 

New Article: External Employment: We presented a new article that would revoke side letter 8 in the current contract that prohibits outside employment for graduate workers, who often require outside employment both to help meet financial ends and gain valuable experience in their field of study. The State and SUNY suggested their willingness to work with us to find solutions, while also indicating that they will need time to introduce a pre-approval system for graduate workers seeking external employment, similar to what other SUNY employees currently have.

Health And Safety: Graduate workers across the SUNY campuses shared their experiences with working in unsafe environments, such as broken elevators, deteriorating ceilings, and being forced to work, eat and spend time in offices and break rooms near dangerous chemicals, strong and potentially dangerous odors and biohazards. For the third time in a row, SUNY and the State once again showed an unwillingness to bargain over the basic protections and benefits for graduate workers. Incredibly, the State even called our requests for workplace protections “aspirational.”

International Student Worker Rights and Protections: New York State and SUNY continue their refusal to offer barebones and basic protections for International Workers, stating that these are not things the state feels it's appropriate to do.
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We have not yet received counters on our proposals on: Office Space, Personnel Files, Bulletin Boards, Discrimination, Work Reassignment, Parking or Grievances. However, if we can show them that TAs and GAs want these important issues addressed, we'll have more leverage to get stronger agreements at the bargaining table.