Their message was delivered loud and clear: “United we bargain, divided we beg.”
This is what it said on the back of approximately 200 t-shirts worn by Stony Brook University research assistants (RAs) in the SAC Auditorium Monday, as a rally was held to publicize their desire to unionize. The RAs, who assist professors on research projects, want to form a union so they will have united representation in negotiations regarding wages, benefits and working conditions.
State and local officials came to the rally to support the RAs cause.
“They can’t negotiate their wages and are at the mercy of who their bosses are,” Legislator Kate Browning (WF-Shirely) said. “It’s hard to put bread and butter on the table when you’re not getting paid enough.”
Slightly more than 500 of the approximate 800 Stony Brook research assistants—doctoral students—signed an organizing mission statement saying they support joining Local 1104 of the Communications Workers of America. The Local already represents more than 4,000 teaching and graduate assistants enrolled throught the SUNY system.
The RAs are employed by the SUNY Research Foundation (RF). The foundation is a private, nonprofit educational corporation that works with SUNY to acquire, administer and manage external funds to advance research and education, and transfer technology from the campus to the marketplace.
“We are not anti-union and we certainly respect their right to organize and unionize,” said Paul Kelly, assistant vice president for human resources for the SUNY Research Foundation. What the foundation would like the RAs to do is follow the National Labor Relations Act, he continued.
Otherwise known as the Wagner Act,signed into law July 5, 1935, this policy established a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), with the authority to investigate and decide on charges of unfair labor practices and to conduct elections in which workers would have the opportunity to decide whether or not they want to be represented by a union.
Mr. Kelly said the vote is the same as voting for a member of congress or the president, where there is a secret ballot, a curtain is drawn and people can vote in privacy.
Tim Dubnau, who represents Local 1104, predicted representatives from the RF would say they wanted a secret ballot. “The problem is with the process to go to the secret ballet election because then the RF can stall and try to intimidate the RAs. The union would have a secret ballet election if we could do it seven to 10 days from today.”
In order to go through the process of a secret ballot with the NLB, the RAs need to submit a petition, and they have not done that yet, Mr. Kelly said. The RF could not give a timeline of how long it would take for the process to come to a vote because the RAs have not filed a petition to form a union and go with a secret ballot, he continued.
As the matter of RAs forming a union becomes more pressing for students who are in need of higher wages, it was made clear at the rally students would not be intimidated by their employer.
“We are here today to send a message to the Research Foundation and John O’Connor, its President, to remain neutral and respect our right to choose whether or not we want to form a union, free from coercion or intimidation,” said Xiao Xu, a research assistant studying cures for leukemia.
Although Mr. Kelly said the foundation is not ant-union, on the foundation’s website, rfsuny.org, it says: “The RF believes that having a unionized workforce in a sponsored programs environment like ours would not be beneficial or appropriate for employees or researchers for several reasons.”
On the RF website it also says when working in a unionized environment direct dealing between employees and management is prohibited by law. RF believes placing a "third party" between management and staff would have a negative impact on job satisfaction for all involved. The website also states: “A union could create delays in hiring and jeopardize projects because sponsors may decide to work with non-unionized employers at other universities where such delays may not be encountered.”
Others disagree.
“You are the backbone to the university,” said State Senator Craig Johnson (D-Nassau). “It’s only fair for you to unionize.”
Editors note: SBGradMag will continue following this story througout the semester as breaking news develops.
