The New York State College of Ceramics Graduate Student Workers Union (NYSCC-GSU) is excited to share that we have ratified our first contract! The NYSCC-GSU was organized during the spring of 2024 through a joint effort between graduate student workers in the two halves of the College of Ceramics: The School of Art and Design and the Inamori School of Engineering.
Although the two schools were historically more closely intertwined, they had drifted apart in recent years, and the unionization effort not only brought the schools together to fight for our common rights as workers but also increased collaboration between workers in each school.
In April of 2024 the organizing committee of NYSCC-GSU filed for an election, which was won with a 90% yes vote on May 8, 2024. Bargaining our first contract began in the fall of 2024 via Zoom. The bargaining committee was focused on the issues that mattered the most to our membership, including health insurance and increasing wages. One of the primary reasons why NYSCC graduate student workers voted to unionize was the lack of health insurance, with domestic students relying on Medicaid and international students being forced to purchase extremely expensive healthcare. Additionally, there was almost no movement on wage increases to keep up with the rising cost of living over the last 25+ years.
After 16 months, the workers of the NYSCC-GSU voted to ratify our new contract on February 27, 2026. While this new contract is not perfect, it makes substantial improvements on our previous conditions. Workers in the School of Engineering will see an 18% raise, while workers in the School of Art and Design will see a 28.5% raise beginning Fall Semester 2026. Additionally, all graduate student workers in NYSCC-GSU will be eligible for health, dental, and vision insurance through NYSHIP’s Student Employee Health Plan (SEHP). We have also achieved several safety-related items, including stricter monitoring of fume hoods, the prohibition of NDAs on complainants of discrimination, greater access to personal protective equipment, and enforceable limits on working hours.
Although the NYSCC-GSU is very pleased at the progress we have made, there is still a good amount of work to be done. Alfred University/NYSCC administration has yet to sign the ratified contract, and until it is signed these positive changes cannot go into effect. As we move into the end of the semester, the NYSCC-GSU is encouraging admin to sign as well as beginning our process to establish our formal leadership on campus.
If you would like to stay in touch with NYSCC-GSU, follow us on Instagram @nyscc.union or email us at nyscc.gsu@gmail.com.
