Written by Damien Lewis ||
The faculty at SUNY Broome have reached an agreement with the school to ratify the teacher’s contract, after more than a year of intense negotiations. This contract ensures benefits, such as a three percent pay raise and class size caps. Over the course of the past year, there were strong disagreements between the staff and the school over the contract’s contents, for example, college negotiators originally suggested increasing class sizes and removing caps on payments for retiree health insurance.
On October 6th, tensions between the union and the school reached a boiling point, with the union rallying in front of the Wales building to state their case and make their voices heard. Union President Suzanne Shepard states, “If we’re not investing in the people dedicated to helping our students reach those heights and preserving key student supports like smaller online class sizes, it sends the wrong message about our college’s priorities.”
Contributed by Madelyn Clements and Brian Smith
Interview and image from nysut.org
fulcrumnewspaper.com 