Codify Fee Waiver Language for SUNY Graduate Student Workers

In 2022, we won a commitment to fund phasing out mandatory broad-based fees for SUNY graduate workers and have successfully received $3M in FY24 and $6M in FY25. This year, along with $9M in committed funding, we want language to ensure this victory is in statute.

THE PROBLEM:

• Graduate student workers provide vital labor to SUNY, including teaching a significant portion of classes.
• Despite their key role in the education and the economy of New York state, they face significant financial challenges, exacerbated by compulsory fees.
• Graduate student workers participate in a “pay-to-work” system in which employees are charged for the maintenance and upkeep of the workplace, which is abnormal in most work settings.
• These workers won a commitment to fund a phase-out of these fees and have successfully obtained the first two installments, but this commitment is not guaranteed by law.

THE SOLUTION:

Codify the commitment won in 2022 to ensure graduate students are protected in perpetuity and ensure $9M in funding this year.