A Seat at the Table Matters: Why I Support SGEU as an International Graduate Student
By Aditya (Adi) Srinivasan, Social Sciences PhD Student and Syracuse Graduate Employees United member
As international students, we deal in precarity. It’s our social currency. We are, legally speaking, ‘nonresident aliens.’ The term conjures up the image of - perhaps - a cute martian, of the sort seen in children’s books and cartoon shows. If only. More realistically, it conjures up the rather less friendly image of a weathered graduate student, waiting in line early in the morning at a food pantry. Panicking about rent. Counting every dollar, despondently scrolling past an inaccessible plane or bus ticket, rushing to class, to teach, to write, to be there for their partners and loved ones. Nonresident aliens, believe it or not, are human beings. And as things stand, they are often condemned to a life that moves paycheck to paycheck, classroom to classroom, and food pantry to food pantry.
“International students, simply put, often struggle to exercise meaningful agency. ... Any request we make to our employers, as things stand, is entirely in their hands.”
International students, simply put, often struggle to exercise meaningful agency. They cannot work a second job, not that doing so is the way to get out of this spiral. They cannot choose to explore the city of Syracuse or the surrounding regions, because they don’t have cars. They wait patiently on friends with cars to take them grocery shopping, dredging through the back of their freezers. When they choose - on the off-chance - to build the courage to demand more from their employers, they face a lottery. Will they? Won’t they? The fact of the matter is simple: graduate student workers in general, and international graduate student workers in particular, have little to no agency. We must accept precarity as a way of life.
Any request we make to our employers, as things stand, is entirely in their hands. We have little agency to change their decisions. This was the case when I asked for assistance to move from New Delhi, India, to Syracuse. For expenses as wide-ranging as flying to the United States, renting a house, paying deposit, buying groceries - in short, setting up a new life - I was offered USD 500. At the peak of the COVID pandemic and the start of an outlandish wave of inflation, I ask you to imagine what that means. Needless to say, I dipped into my savings and lived frugally until I was able to build something resembling a financial base. This is true of several international graduate students, and those from marginalised communities end up, effectively, begging their employers for assistance, bound to accept their response. It’s an unfair system, and it needs to change.
Aditya (Adi) Srinivasan speaking at the Syracuse Graduate Employees United March for Recognition on February 8, 2023.
That’s why I’m working with Syracuse Graduate Employees United to help graduate workers get a seat at the table. As professors, our Black Graduate Student Association Colleagues, and our undergraduate peers have advocated, this attempt to form a collective of graduate workers is a right we can exercise. It is one of the few ways in which international graduate student workers - and graduate workers from all marginalised communities - can reasonably change their status quo. We have the same rights as domestic graduate students to join or advocate for a union, and our collective voice has yielded an agreement with Syracuse University to facilitate an election, create an open and respectful space for conversation, and move closer to mutual recognition.
“Once we form our union, every decision we make will be voted on democratically. You will have the agency to accept, refuse, and modify your collectively bargained contracts. ”
For those in the campus community who would like to know more: this is a home-grown, collective effort that has been in the works for years. In my experience, SGEU spaces are democratic and open. You can join organising meetings, training sessions, and events, all of which can be found on the SGEU website. I encourage you to read and understand your rights as employees. Help educate your colleagues on why this is important, and most importantly - make your voice heard. This movement is not about imposing the will of the few upon the many - in that case, what would make it different from the status quo? It’s about coming together to give graduate employees a voice, and to create a democratic precedent. Once we form our union, every decision we make will be voted on democratically. You will have the agency to accept, refuse, and modify your collectively bargained contracts. Unionized graduate employees have already won numerous vctories at comparable research universities: at the University of Connecticut, for example, they obtained minimum stipends of approximately $25,000 for masters students, $27,000 for PhD students, and $30,000 for PhD candidates. Elsewhere, graduate employee unions have won increased support for international students in the form of SEVIS fee reimbursements and paid leave to attend immigration proceedings. A majority of our colleagues have endorsed our pursuit to form a union, and by coming together in even greater numbers, we send a clear message: Syracuse University’s Graduate Workers stand together. For our rights. For our safety. For our dignity.
