Pay:
Hourly Student Workers: An 8% raise for lowest paid, and a net 20% increase over the lifetime of the contract
Graduate Employees: A 27% increase for the minimum stipend during the first contract, and guaranteed 12.5% raise over the lifetime of the contract.
Food Service, Library, Grounds Keeping - A 10% increase in 2024, and a 18.75% increase over the life of the contract. These workers have received pay increases in years where every other non-union job at SU saw cuts and downsizing.
Worker Voice:
SEIU 200United now represents over 3,000 workers at Syracuse University. While each group has their own contract to acknowledge the differences in their roles and work, one thing each of these contracts insures is worker voice.
Having a union won all of these workers standardized work rules, progressive discipline policies, “just cause” protections, grievance and arbitration procedures, and avenues for raising concerns about workplace safety.
Benefits:
Graduate Workers: Healthcare subsidies of 80% employer paid, and a subsidized Dental Plan at 100% rate. Paired with these is a 50,000 GA Healthcare fund to support those with high out of pocket costs
Food Service, Library, Grounds Keeping: Lowest health insurance cost for any workers on campus. This continues to be a 75% employer, 25% employee split.
union VICTORIES at syracuse university
Workers in food services, library, and facilities have been unionized with SEIU 200United since the 1970s. Then beginning in earnest in 2022, Graduate Student workers, following other unsuccessful attempts, also won their union in April 2023. Following the graduate workers' decisive victory, with a vote of 728 yes to 36 no, other workers across campus continued organizing. Hourly Student Workers in Food Service and the Libraries won their union in April of 2024 with only one no vote being cast, and the Syracuse University Staff Union won their union in June of 2024 by a 2/3 Margin.
What do all of these unions on campus mean? All of these workers, while belonging to different chapters and representing workers, are all represented by SEIU200United. The reason for all of these workers standing together gives them all more power by extension. These workers have made massive strides since organizing. Here are some of the things these workers have won: