Shop Notes #4 - 7/17/24

On Thursday, July 11, GSEU met with SUNY and the State of New York to hold our fourth bargaining session to negotiate a new contract! This session we worked through seven articles, some of which expanded upon protections provided by current contract articles, and others which would include new protections not current afforded by the collective bargaining agreement:

Article 4: Discrimination: The Union provided a counter proposal to the State of New York and SUNY that would allow graduate workers to explicitly grieve a hostile work environment.

Article 21: Job Postings: The Union provided a counter proposal to the State of New York and SUNY that would make it easier for graduate students searching for GSEU-eligible positions to find them through platforms like Handshake or respective University HR websites.

Article 15: Meeting Space: The Union proposed a revision to a current article that would allow GSEU to have office space on SUNY campuses – this better allows GSEU to work with members and would guarantee privacy when talking about difficult or personal topics with your union representative.

Article 10: Health and Safety: The Union proposed a revision to a current article that would widely expand health and safety practices for all graduate workers, including having Universities and Colleges relocate members working in unsafe environments, as well as the creation of a Health and Safety committee that GSEU would have a seat on.

Article X: Employee Offices: The Union proposed a brand new article that would codify safe office spaces for all graduate workers.

Article X: Academic Freedom: The Union proposed a brand new article that would codify academic freedom protections for all members, which is particularly important for Teaching Assistants!
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Article X: Housing: The Union proposed a brand new article that would provide financial support for graduate workers in relocating to their respective Universities and Colleges prior to their first year, as well as asking that Universities and Colleges maintain affordable housing.

Looking ahead, we’ll be meeting with SUNY and the State of New York at the end of July to continue discussions! If you’re interested in participating more in GSEU’s bargaining with SUNY and the State of New York, fill out this form!