On Friday, February 16, GSEU met with SUNY and the State of New York to hold our first bargaining session to negotiate a new contract! This contract sets our base stipends, yearly raises, health insurance, benefits, fund monies, workplace protections, and more, so it's very important that we as graduate workers use our collective power to win the strongest contract possible. If you are a TA/GA and want a say in what this contract covers and a vote on contract ratification, you need to be a signed union member! Sign your card here!
Prior to proposing articles that the Bargaining Committee had already developed, we discussed Ground Rules that would guide our bargaining sessions. In these discussions, GSEU prioritized transparency and open communication with members! GSEU put forward 5 proposals–4 of these proposals were modifications of current articles, and 1 would be a new addition to the contract: Article 21: Job Postings: Our proposal aims to make this language current, letting SUNY campuses post open non-academic GA positions on campus websites Article 16: Grievance and Arbitration: Our proposal streamlines the contract grievance process, making it easier for members to understand, and more efficient Article 7: Parking: We know parking is extremely important, so our proposal aims to make parking free and to award all TAs and GAs access to faculty and staff-designated parking lots Article 4: Discrimination: Our proposal updates contract language to make it more aligned with state law and would provide graduate workers with a new avenue of recourse for mistreatment in the workplace New Article: Prohibition of NDAs on Sexual Harassment: This new proposal protects everyone’s health and safety, and simply reinforces what is currently New York state law Looking ahead, we’ll be meeting with SUNY and the State of New York in early March to continue discussions!
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