SEIU members to vote on Aug. 3 on contract agreement with Syracuse University

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 200United who work at Syracuse University will vote on Wednesday on a new, tentative contract agreement reached with the school.

Syracuse University, which is the second-largest employer in Onondaga County, and the union reached the deal on July 20, according to a July 21 news release that Syracuse posted on its website.

No financial terms of the contract were disclosed in the release.

 “The SEIU bargaining committee is pleased to have reached a tentative agreement,” Scott Phillipson, president of SEIU Local 200United, said in the Syracuse University release. “We believe it addresses the heartfelt concerns of our members regarding the need to improve wages and affordability of benefits on campus. The bargaining committee is unanimously recommending ratification of the agreement and we look forward to bringing it to our membership for a vote on August 3, 2016, at Hendricks Chapel.”

The tentative, three-year deal covers 830 SEIU employees who work at the university as food-service providers, library technicians, and skilled tradespeople, according to the release.

The workers include “hundreds of employees” who are involved in the more than 120 construction projects currently happening on the Syracuse campus, Pete Sala, VP and chief facilities officer, said.

With SEIU employee approval, the contract will run from 2016 through 2019, Syracuse said.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com