“We still don’t find that satisfying, and that doesn’t get us above the poverty level,” Doğa Öner, the GSEU president, said of the November 2021 wage increase. “Because of the current inflation that is incredibly high in Suffolk County and all the U.S, actually we find ourselves in a worse position than we were before we got the raise.”
While police officers and administration workers watched the protest from the second floor, protestors congregated around the spiral staircase and the dinosaur skeleton that decorates the lobby. The main lobby was illuminated by the sunlight that penetrated through the glass ceiling. As the group shared their stories, they drew solidarity from their collective struggle.