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Syracuse University workers unionized under Service Employees International Union Local 200United voted in favor of ratifying a four-year contract agreement with SU, according to a Friday evening campus-wide email from SU administrators John Papazoglou, Pete Sala and David Seaman.

The contract includes a 10% wage increase, effective immediately, an SEIU spokesperson wrote in a statement sent to The Daily Orange. SU also reportedly agreed to a roughly 19.9% aggregate wage increase over the life of the contract. The workers’ pays will increase by 3% in the contract’s second year, 2.75% in year 3 and 3% in year 4, according to the spokesperson.

“This vote follows months of thoughtful and collaborative discussions between Union leadership and the University,” the SU email reads. “We value the role of labor unions on our campus and are especially grateful for the important work our food services, facilities and libraries colleagues perform every day to make Syracuse University a great place to live, learn and work.”

SEIU-affiliated university employees — encompassing around 800 library, food service, facilities and maintenance workers — ratified the contract by a vote of 468-52, or 90%, the SEIU spokesperson wrote. The agreement does not include changes to healthcare benefits.

SEIU 200United began negotiations between its members and SU in the summer of 2023 and voted to officially recognize the union this past June. After receiving recognition, the union and the university entered into several months of negotiation talks.

On Aug. 26, SU workers with SEIU 200United held a rally outside 727 Comstock Ave. following the union’s rejection of a previous contract proposal from the university. The proposed contract reportedly offered a 2.5% wage increase, below the 10% rally participants said would provide these workers with a livable wage.

The union reached a tentative contract agreement with SU late Tuesday night, around one week after its August rally, spokespeople from SU and SEIU told The D.O. Wednesday.

Now that SEIU 200United has ratified its agreement, the contract will now go into effect. The immediate 10% wage is retroactive to July 1, meaning workers will be retroactively compensated for their labor following that date, the SEIU spokesperson wrote.

Published on September 6, 2024 at 9:34 pm

Contact Julia: jmboehni@syr.edu