Administrative workers at SUNY Erie Community College and the union that represents a little over 100 of them are heading into contract talks on May 1 and May 5 after staging a picket outside the school’s North Campus in Williamsville one day earlier.
Katie Koch, president of AAECC UAW Local 3300, said the workers handle background admissions, financial aid, registrars, student support and other duties that keep students enrolled. “We are the administrators of the college. We are the ones that do all the background admissions, financial aid, registrars, all the things that you don't see, all the students support, everything that gets the students and keeps the students enrolled in college,” she said. Koch also said, “We've been without a contract for six years now,” and said the union has lost some good workers over the years because of poor wages.
The union is seeking higher pay and better benefits, while SUNY Erie president Adiam Tsegai has said the union’s wage proposal of about 6.85% each year for four years is “unreasonable and unsustainable.” The college has countered with a 3.2% wage increase each year for four years, which Tsegai described as “fair.”
The dispute now moves into a new round of bargaining just as both sides are under pressure to show progress. College board president Jeffrey Stone said he supports the college’s bargaining team reaching a deal that is meaningful, addresses the college’s priorities and is economically sustainable.
Hayes Dolce LLP, which represents the union, said AAECC UAW Local 3300 has “fully respected the ground rules agreed to by the parties,” and has “specifically refrained from disclosing any information regarding parties' proposals.” The firm said members have instead focused on the terms in the current collective bargaining agreement, which expired six years ago, and said it was disappointed that the college’s response to the union’s “legally protected and peaceful informational picket” was to violate the ground rules the college proposed.
The same firm said the union looks forward to productive bargaining sessions on May 1 and May 5. For now, the issue is straightforward: a six-year-old contract, a public wage fight and workers who say the college depends on the jobs most students never see. The next test is whether those talks produce a deal or deepen the standoff.