Syracuse University graduate student workers have successfully unionized.
Syracuse Graduate Employees United, affiliated with the Service Employees International Union, said in a news release that the vote was 728 to 36, with 90 contested ballots.
The union will represent graduate assistants, research assistants and teaching assistants paid via stipends, said Amanda Beavin, a graduate assistant. She told Inside Higher Ed that graduate employees who are paid hourly aren’t included but are “actively organizing” in what would be a different bargaining unit.
In a news release, the union said graduate workers have cited low pay, high workloads, poor health-care benefits and lack of support for international and marginalized employees.
“This win sets an important precedent for our relationship with the administration, giving us a voice in our working conditions,” said Nathan Pérez-Espitia, another graduate assistant, in the release. “Over time, I’m confident that it will make Syracuse University a better place to learn and work.”
Gretchen Ritter, Syracuse’s provost and chief academic officer, said that the union will represent 1,124 graduate students.
“We will negotiate in the spirit of partnership and respect that have been the hallmarks of our labor-management relationships to date,” Ritter wrote. “In the meantime, we remain committed to ensuring a positive, rewarding and successful experience for all our graduate students. Finally, I want to thank our graduate students, union representatives and all members of our community for engaging in a constructive and respectful union election.”
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Syracuse Graduate Employees United, affiliated with the Service Employees International Union, said in a news release that the vote was 728 to 36, with 90 contested ballots.
The union will represent graduate assistants, research assistants and teaching assistants paid via stipends, said Amanda Beavin, a graduate assistant. She told Inside Higher Ed that graduate employees who are paid hourly aren’t included but are “actively organizing” in what would be a different bargaining unit.
In a news release, the union said graduate workers have cited low pay, high workloads, poor health-care benefits and lack of support for international and marginalized employees.
“This win sets an important precedent for our relationship with the administration, giving us a voice in our working conditions,” said Nathan Pérez-Espitia, another graduate assistant, in the release. “Over time, I’m confident that it will make Syracuse University a better place to learn and work.”
Gretchen Ritter, Syracuse’s provost and chief academic officer, said that the union will represent 1,124 graduate students.
“We will negotiate in the spirit of partnership and respect that have been the hallmarks of our labor-management relationships to date,” Ritter wrote. “In the meantime, we remain committed to ensuring a positive, rewarding and successful experience for all our graduate students. Finally, I want to thank our graduate students, union representatives and all members of our community for engaging in a constructive and respectful union election.”
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