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11/30/09 SUNY Stony Brook research assistants seeking contract

CWA, UUP, NYSUT, PEF and CSEA join cause

By Allison Roselle

November 30, 2009

Dozens of union workers and graduate students rallied on Nov. 20 at the entrance of the State University of New York Research Foundation demanding an initial, “fair” contract for graduate research assistant students.

The protestors carried signs with slogans that read “no contracts, no peace” and “support RA

Union,” while chanting, “Who are we? RA Union. What do we want? Contracts.”

A large, blow-up “corporate pig,” dressed in a top hat and bow tie with dollar signs in his eyes and a cigar in his mouth, stood in front of the Research Foundation doors as about three dozen protesters rallied on the sidewalk.

The RA Union, which includes about 740 SUNY Stony Brook student research assistants through the Communications Workers of America Local 1104, has been in the process of negotiating with the Research Foundation to secure a contract that provides fee waivers, job security and medical, dental and vision benefits since the union was formed in Dec. 2008.

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10/23/09 Press coverage from demonstration

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SB officially welcomes 5th president
Newsday
October 23, 2009
Grad Student Rally Ends in Controversy
Stony Brook Independent
October 24, 2009
5th Prez Inaugurated During Tough Times
The Statesman
October 25, 2009
This is How the University Handles Dissent
The Stony Brook Press
November 15, 2009
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Research Foundation Under Federal Investigation

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Feds probe $UNY
New York Post
September 15, 2009
SUNY’s use of federal cash investigated
New York Post
September 14, 2009
Feds investigate foundation at SUNY
Times Union 
September 14, 2009

SUNY’s research funding probed
The Buffalo News 
September 12, 2009
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SBU Researchers Protest Lack of Contract

 

 

 

 

By Lee Lutz

September 10, 2009 | 11:12 AM

Freshmen who arrived on the Stony Brook University campus only last week may wonder if boisterous rallies with dozens of sign-carrying protestors is the norm at their new home. On Tuesday the union representing research assistants at SBU held a loud noontime rally outside the Melville Library, then marched en masse to the offices of Vice President for Research Gail Habicht, on the library’s fourth floor. It was there the group delivered a letter protesting the slow pace of negotiations between Local 1104 of the Communications Workers of America, which represents the RA’s, and the Research Foundation of SUNY in Albany, representing the interests of the state university system.

The RA’s had lots of support from fellow union members, including the United University Professions, which represent SBU faculty, Long Island laborers and machinists locals and the Long Island Federation of Labor. Also speaking in support of the graduate students was Leg. Kate Browning (WF-Shirley), “a proud union member,” who told the crowd of about 75 attending the rally, “Anything you need, I’m here for you.” 

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The Bargaining Continues

The Stony Brook Press
June 9th, 2009

What do they want? A fair and equal contract for every Research Assistant. When do they want it? Last semester, actually. Since the union’s establishment at the end of the Fall 2008 semester, members of the Communication Workers of America Local 1104 have been actively working to ensure fairer wages, more favorable benefits and better job security for Research Assistants at Stony Brook University.

Amidst reports of anti-union campaigning by the Research Foundation, the private entity that employs the RA’s, graduate students here at Stony Brook voted to unionize in December 2008. Soon after, union organizers set to work on a contract for RA’s that was on their terms. “[Our goal is] a contract with a robust grievance procedure that ensures that RAs are treated fairly and protected from exploitive or inappropriate treatment by our employers,” said Zvi Citron, an RA in the physics department and member of the bargaining committee. To date, however, organizers have met with a dismissive and unresponsive RF.

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Research assistants join a union

Nature 457, 502 (21 January 2009)
New York sees a rare feat
Research assistants at the Research Foundation of the State University of New York (SUNY) in Stony Brook have decided to unionize — the latest development in ongoing unionization battles at US universities. Nearly all who voted last month to join the Communication Workers of America (CWA) are working in science, says Matthew Engel, a Stony Brook research assistant who campaigned for union representation. Frustrated by issues such as fees and job insecurity, they are seeking benefits comparable to those received by teaching assistants. 

Research assistants are graduates temporarily doing academic research at a college, university or non-university institution. They usually work on projects supervised by full-time academics who administer the funds that provide their salaries. Teaching assistants generally receive fixed pay from the university.

In 2004, the federal National Labor Relations Board ruled that research assistants are students, not employees, and so could not be represented by a union. But a 2007 board ruled that those at the SUNY Research Foundation in Albany, Buffalo and Syracuse were fundamentally employees.

Teaching assistants are already represented by the CWA. “We found out that they had negotiated some benefits, and we thought it was a good idea,” says Engel, a doctoral student in Stony Brook’s biomedical engineering department. According to the union website, its local branch now represents more than 4,000 research and teaching assistants throughout the SUNY system. Engel hopes to negotiate reduced fees and improved pay and health benefits.

SUNY research assistant Luigi Longobardi emphasizes the importance of job security for non-US research assistants whose visa status depends on funding. “If we’re going to be without funding, we should have a fair amount of time to find another adviser or alternative sources of funding,” he says.

According to the Coalition of Graduate Employee Unions, some 30 unions cover graduate employees on more than 60 campuses.

“The Research Foundation is committed to following all laws and regulations related to collective bargaining,” a foundation spokeswoman says. The university has raised no objections to the vote.

Engel says the research assistants are selecting a negotiating team and expect to sign a contract with the Research Foundation soon.

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Research Foundation Under Scrutiny

Albany Times Union
January 4, 2009
ALBANY — The FBI’s investigation of former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno has expanded to the Research Foundation of the State University of New York, according to sources familiar with the probe. 

In particular, a knowledgeable source said, the FBI is probing the work activities of Susan M. Bruno, the elder daughter of the former Senate leader.

The recent FBI inquiry at the Research Foundation — a private arm of SUNY that handles about $1 billion a year in grants and other funds for the SUNY campuses and employs more than 17,000 people — is tied to the ongoing federal grand jury investigation of Joseph Bruno’s political activities and private business dealings.

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All is well that ends well

SUNY SB GSO GRADMAG
December 30, 2008
After months of feuding with their employer Stony Brook University research assistants have voted to unionize. The final decision to form a union and unite with Communications of America (CWA) Local 1104 came Dec. 5 when 214 RAs voted yes and 135 voted no to unionization. There are about 745 research assistants. The Local already represented more than 4,000 teaching and graduate students throughout the SUNY system befroe the Dec. 5 vote. RAs who voted in favor of unionizing said they believe they will have a better chance of improving their contracts if they are represented as a whole instead of on an individual level. 

“We have a louder voice and to have a louder voice we need to speak as one,” said Mariel Lopez-Gasca, a union organizer and a research assistant in the Marine and Applied Sciences Program. Some of the benefits these students receive that the RAs do not are waivers on transportation and technology fees, amongst other benefits. RAs will now be able to negotiate better contracts and one of the most important matters regarding contract negotiations is higher salaries, said Ms. Lopez-Gasca.

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