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Four months after first organizing, Service Employees International Union Local 200United has made several changes aiming to help Syracuse University’s employees, but members say the union still faces challenges ahead.

SEIU steward Maven Kavan said she was inspired by the Syracuse Graduate Employees United union. In spring 2024, SGEU won an agreement that won benefits including a median 24% stipend increase and extended health coverage.

“When the grad students started organizing, we realized that we didn’t have to continue to stay being treated like this,” she said.

Kavan, a sophomore in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, said she almost quit her job at Bird Library’s LaunchPad before joining SEIU. When Kavan began her job in fall 2025, she said she struggled with an unclear job description, lack of training and conflicts with her manager. Speaking to an SEIU representative was the first time she said she felt her concerns were heard and the situation could change.

In its first few months, SEIU has secured clearer job descriptions for student workers and defined pay scales specifying how much each role should be earning, said Courtney Cole, an SEIU organizer and representative.

The union also secured a $2 pay raise for students and an almost $4 increase in meal allowances per shift, Cole said.

SU master’s student Rajdeep Chatterjee said involvement in the union has not only helped him financially but made him feel more “comfortable” in his campus roles.

“How I thought of (the union) from a very big beginning was like insurance,” Chatterjee said. “That even if everything is great, everyone is really friendly, everyone is nice … just in case anything goes wrong, then I have the union behind me.”

Chatterjee first began working for SU by picking up shifts at JMA Wireless Dome concession stands. As an international student from Mumbai, India, Chatterjee said he prioritized balancing class work and on-campus employment when he arrived at SU in the spring of 2025. Now, Chatterjee is a concessions supervisor, student employee for Sadler Hall dining and marketing intern for the LaunchPad.

For Chatterjee, SEIU’s recent pay increase and addition of 15-minute breaks per four-hour shift have improved his working conditions. He said the pay increase allowed some students to pursue jobs outside of on-campus dining.

Similarly, Winter Cameron said they had a positive experience working for SU. Now a junior, Cameron currently works at Goldstein Student Center, but has also worked at Food.com and the Dome since their freshman year.

Despite their overall positive experience, Cameron said they wish workers were better trained, as some feel overwhelmed by a lack of instruction when starting new roles.

Always passionate about workers’ rights, Cameron said they were excited to join SEIU. As a steward, they said they enjoy getting the opportunity to negotiate with the school.

“I think as a student, having direct communication with the school itself, about your issues for employment, and having some people to be your voice, I think that is especially important and something you don’t usually get with student employment,” Cameron said.

Despite the union’s recent improvements, Chatterjee said he wants international students to feel confident consulting the union about concerns such as body jewelry policies. In February 2026, Chatterjee and other student employees received an email from their dining managers asking staff to remove “all jewelry” during their shifts.

Chatterjee said he hopes to establish a framework with his union manager concerning body jewelry to respect its cultural significance for some student employees.

Some student workers currently have a negative view of SEIU due to the increased attention it’s brought to issues like the jewelry policy, Kavan said, which had previously gone unaddressed.

Looking ahead to next semester, Kavan and Cameron said they hope SEIU can get more students involved and voice what issues they want addressed next. As more students learn about their contracts and the changes that SEIU is making, they said, they may be more understanding of the policies the university is enforcing.

“We’re gonna make sure you’re safe, and we’re also here to try and make sure that the university’s happy as well,” Kavan said.

Per Kavan, the university was very cooperative in past meetings, and despite differing opinions, it felt like both SU and SEIU representatives were trying to work together.

Cameron said they recognize that working with the university is a negotiation and that they won’t be able to get all of the issues they want approved.

“We’re here for students. We’re fighting for respect,” Kavan said.

DISCLAIMER: News Editor Brenne Sheehan is a member of the SEIU. She did not influence the editorial content of this article.

Assistant Copy Editor Remi Turner contributed reporting for this article.

Published on March 24, 2026 at 10:45 pm