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Graduate research assistants at SUNY ESF have launched a campaign to unionize as the ESF Research Assistants Union, national affiliate Communications Workers of America announced in a Thursday press release.

On Thursday, organizers of ESFRAU presented a letter signed by 56 research assistants to the college’s president Joanie Mahoney, according to the release, to negotiate improved working conditions. The launch comes less than a week before Syracuse University’s Syracuse Graduate Employees United’s April 3-4 election to certify its unionization effort.

ESFRAU’s union effort is beginning after a majority of research assistants signed cards in favor of forming a union with CWA, the release states.

The union is looking for an increase in pay and improved working conditions, including ensuring transparency on fee spending, affordable health insurance, paid leave and reasonable accommodations for parents and caretakers, the letter and vision statement delivered to Mahoney reads.

Although the 5,000 graduate student workers within the SUNY system are members of the Graduate Student Employees Union CWA Local 1104, ESF’s research assistants are not eligible to be members, because they are funded by a private foundation and not by New York state, the release states.

In the event the college does not voluntarily recognize the union, ESF’s RAU is planning to file for an official election with the National Labor Relations Board, according to the release.

“The university relies on the Research Assistants to conduct crucial research, run labs, teach and assist students and more,” the release reads.

Workers dealt with poor working conditions, like harassment in the work environment and feeling overworked without compensation despite the role they hold on ESF’s campus, according to the release.

One prevailing point of discontent among the research assistants is the student fee they need to pay in order to perform their duties, like operating the software system through which they access their students’ assignments and submit grades.

“Employees are being charged for the maintenance and upkeep of the workplace, meaning these workers must pay a portion of their salary back to their employers just to do their jobs,” the release reads.

Adam Mitchell — a master’s student and a research assistant in the Environmental Resources Engineering Department who is participating in the union effort — said the stipend research assistants receive is less than the minimum wage in Syracuse and isn’t livable.

“We have to pay upwards of $300 to register for a single class,” Mitchell said in the release. “None of us deserve the treatment we are receiving. The university is exploiting our passion and dedication to our studies and our work and we are coming together to form a union to put a stop to it.”

Elinor Hanjian, a research assistant in the Environmental Studies Department, shared in the release that she’s one of the many graduate students who have taken a second job to make ends meet. She said it feels like the school only wants to use her for the work she can provide.

“It has become nearly impossible to maintain any sense of work/life balance while being constantly overworked as a Research Assistant, having a second job and conducting my own research,” Hanjian stated in the release. “On top of our financial challenges, the physical, mental and emotional burden we face is making it unsustainable for many of us to continue to pursue our academic goals.”

Research assistants have successfully unionized at a growing number of colleges and universities. The union cited the successful Stony Brook University Research Assistants Union, which was certified in 2013.

As of its launch, the union is hopeful for voluntary recognition from ESF but prepared for other outcomes, the release reads. In ESFRAU’s letter and vision statement, union members emphasized the value of collective bargaining and amplifying their voices.

“Collective bargaining is the only way for Research Assistants at ESF to institute concrete changes, address our current challenges, and build the framework for improving future workplace conditions,” the letter states. “Realizing these objectives will allow us to better serve our ESF and off-campus community and to fulfill our common mission of improving our world.”

Published on March 31, 2023 at 4:31 pm