10th Bargaining Session: Jan 8th, 2025

This session we worked on the Health & Safety article, moving closer to common ground with management:

Article 10: Health and Safety: The state reworked the health and safety article completely, proposing a committee system spanning from the campus to the SUNY-wide level for responding to safety issues as they arise. Although this approach differs from the one we initially proposed, we welcomed the attempt to institute a thorough, clear, and standardized procedure for addressing health and safety concerns. The power to grieve inadequate responses to health and safety concerns, a major priority for us, was not included in the state’s proposal. In our counterproposal, GSEU added some things that are important to our members, like provisions for PPE, procedures to address immediate hazards, and temporary relocation protocol, and added a requirement to produce reports whenever immediate hazards arise. We also cut language that would bar GSEU from grieving inadequate responses to health and safety concerns.

Article 11: Labor-Management Meetings: The state proposed changes to this article alongside their Health & Safety proposal to highlight the integration of health & safety response procedures into regular labor-management meetings. Labor-management meetings are where GSEU representatives discuss membership concerns with their campus Labor Relations representatives.

Article X: External Employment: The state, without providing a written counter, reiterated that they plan to require prior authorization for members who want to get a second job. If they want the power to limit our ability to take other jobs, then they must be prepared to pay us a full-time equivalent, living wage.