Political Hardball Wins Long-Awaited Raises for SUNY Teaching Assistants

Local 1104 Shames New York Politicians with Assertive Ad Campaign

Local 1104 President George Bloom and members rally at New York's capitol during the fight to get teaching assistants' raises approved.

It took some serious political brawling by CWA Local 1104, but when the New York Legislature ended its session, 6,000 members of the local's Graduate Student Employees Union finally had the raises they negotiated in 2009.

As members rallied and mobilized, local President George Bloom hired a full-time lobbyist, spent long days in Albany himself and ultimately unleashed a feisty newspaper and radio advertising campaign.

Ultimately, the legislature passed the long-pending bill approving the negotiated raises, as New York law requires for state workers. But in the political upheaval that's led to three governors in three years and several scandal-ridden Democratic lawmakers switching parties, the teaching assistants' contract got stuck.

That meant none of the negotiated 3 percent annual raises for GSEU members, who teach nearly half the classes at the State University of New York (SUNY) but earn only $12,000 a year.

In mid-June, as a national audience watched the New York Legislature embroiled in the same-sex marriage debate, Bloom bought radio and half-page newspaper ads to ensure that politicians wouldn't leave Albany without taking care of his members.

The governor's office, which needed to push the legislature to pass the bill, was inundated with phone calls, leading to some heated exchanges between Bloom and a Cuomo deputy.

"We had to do something drastic," Bloom said. "I'm a big believer that if you don't drum up public support, you're never going to get what you need. So that's what we did."

Making ends meet without raises wasn't the only financial hardship for GSEU members, said Kathleen Sims, executive vice president for Local 1104's Education Division. While the contract was in limbo, teaching assistants weren't getting reimbursed for required professional development training, fees for computer use and other work expenses.

"They are so relieved," Sims said. "We have members who have been waiting for reimbursement since 2007. This is a huge victory, and it wasn't easy to come by."

Although the raises are newly approved, the contract has expired, covering 2007-2009. Sims said the expectation in 2009 was that lawmakers would approve the pay bill, and negotiations for the next contract would get underway. Bloom said the local's bargaining committee will meet this month and hopes to get new talks underway soon.