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Syracuse Graduate Employees United has reached a tentative agreement for a first contract with Syracuse University, according to a Tuesday afternoon Instagram post.

The tentative agreement includes a median 24% stipend increase for the next year along with 80% subsidized health insurance and 100% subsidized preventative dental care. Student graduate workers would also receive time off without reduction of stipends and a $1,000 ratification bonus if the contract is approved, according to the post.

In the same post, SGEU announced it will hold an information session on Friday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in Huntington Beard Crouse Gifford Auditorium to share additional details of the agreement. Union members will vote on the contract Monday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Under the agreement, first-year international graduate workers would also receive SEVIS and Visa fee reimbursement. Childcare subsidies will be available for graduate workers with a household income under $65,000, according to the post.

The union has been engaged in negotiations with the university since September after graduate student workers voted 728-36 in favor of union recognition in April 2023. The union has called for a “respectable” wage, additional pay for graduate assistants working as sole instructors of record, the ability to work a second job and a retroactive, one-time, cost-of-living bonus to account for inflation, according to its website.

Cindy Zhang | Digital Design Director

On March 4, SGEU organized an “urgent all-hands” meeting to discuss frustrations with the university’s proposals regarding compensation and healthcare. One presentation slide detailed a “practice picket” on March 23 and another summarized different types of strikes such as a “student strike,” according to SGEU’s Instagram story.

Three days after the meeting, over 100 graduate students gathered for a bargaining rally before the bargaining committee met with university administration for its all-day negotiation session. At the rally, bargaining committee member Hayden Courtney said the two parties had reached a crossroads when the committee discussed concerns related to compensation and healthcare.

Published on March 19, 2024 at 7:05 pm

Contact Kendall: kaluther@syr.edu