Local 1104-GSEU Members Win In Fight to End Grad Worker Fees

At State University of New York (SUNY) campuses up and down New York, graduate workers and members of the Graduate Student Employees Union/CWA Local 1104 have been fighting for years to eliminate the unbearable fees required by the universities they work for. These mandatory fees, representing 10-15% of the grad workers’ pay, force many into desperate financial situations even while they teach classes, grade papers, prepare lesson plans, and help keep their universities running. 

On January 3rd SUNY-Binghamton announced that as of Spring 2022, all full-time, fully tuition-supported PhD student workers at SUNY-Binghamton will no longer be required to pay broad-based fees. This is a huge, and hard-fought win by our GSEU-1104 members at Binghamton, years in the making and accomplished with strong organizing efforts. 

Over the last several years, GSEU-1104 members throughout the state have signed petitions and sent postcards to university officials and legislators, lobbied elected officials to pass a NYS budget that would eliminate fees, marched on university presidents’ offices, and rallied campus support.

On November 4th, SUNY-Binghamton GSEU-1104 members presented Binghamton President Harvey Stenger with a petition signed by over 670 signatures demanding an end to fees - click here to watch video of the event!

While this is a big win, not all Binghamton graduate workers are covered by this fee elimination, so the fight to eliminate fees for all graduate workers will continue, including continued advocacy this year in the NYS legislature. Stay tuned!