NOVEMBER 2004 CONTRACT UPDATE

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Nov. 04 Clarion

From the Nov. 2004 Clarion
 

 

CUNY promises contract money offer soon Members’ mobilization pushes 80th St. Welfare Fund increases a key issue By Peter Hogness  More than a year of contract bargaining had produced no economic offer from CUNY management – until October 26, when management told PSC negotiators that it would make an offer “within the next couple of [bargaining] sessions.”  The announcement came one day after a lively PSC picket line held outside the monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees.  “Contract now!” union members chanted, as they leafleted students and passers-by. “CUNY salaries and benefits, once outstanding among universities, have fallen to non-competitive levels,” said the leaflet, an open letter to the Trustees. “We urge you…to take action today, and secure a financial offer that supports us in the work we do.”    On October 18, the union bargaining team had made its own proposal for a financial package. In an effort to move negotiations forward, PSC representatives said the union would be willing to take the contract settlement for the SUNY union, United University Professions, as a starting point. The PSC proposed using the UUP agreement as a framework for salary increases, with the addition of sufficient funding to stabilize the PSC/CUNY Welfare Fund (WF) and restore WF benefits.  STARTING POINT  The UUP settlement boosts pay in each year of the agreement, including an $800 cash bonus the first year that becomes part of base salary at the end of the contract, with increases for seniority and the higher cost of living for those employed downstate.  It adds up to increases of about 15% over the life of the four year contract.  “We made clear that a critical difference between the PSC and UUP was that our Welfare Fund covers prescription drugs and faces acute needs this year,” said Barbara Bowen, the PSC’s president and chief negotiator. “These needs cannot be addressed, as in the past, simply by allocating a fraction of a percentage point in salary to the Welfare Fund – nor can we eviscerate our raises to maintain our benefits.”  In addition to member protests and pressure at the bargaining table, as well as signs of progress in New York City’s contract talks with the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) may have influenced the timing of management's response. UFT President Randi Weingarten demurred from a New York Times report that a contract agreement was near, but said that the talks were making “slow but steady” progress. The City and State must both approve any settlement between the PSC and CUNY.  Since the start of the semester, the PSC and CUNY bargaining teams have met almost every week, trying to reach agreement in areas where both have made proposals.  Recent sessions have focused on job security for Higher Education Officers, issues of annual leave, and reassigned time for union work. “Management’s proposals often move in exactly the opposite direction from ours,” Bowen explained. “But I am confident we can make progress, especially if management responds to our proposal with a reasonable financial offer.”  CONTRACT NOW  The October 25 picket line at the Trustees’ meeting included a special focus on equity issues, with signs such as “Equal Pay for Equal Work,” “Promote HEOs and CLTs,” and “Part-Timers: CUNY’s Invisible Faculty?”  “We need a contract!” said Naomi Machado, who teaches in the College Language Immersion Program (CLIP) at BMCC. “Even though we teach 25 hours a week, CLIP teachers are still considered ‘part-time.’  We don’t have the same benefits as full-timers, and starting wages are just $30 per classroom hour. It’s appalling.  We need to have full-time status.”  Library and counseling faculty protested their second-class treatment in annual leave. “We don’t get the same leave as classroom faculty, but we have to meet the same criteria for promotion and tenure,” said Bonnie Nelson, of the library faculty at John Jay.  Ingrid Hughes, an adjunct in English at City Tech and BMCC, called it “outrageous” that part-time faculty earn so little and have no job security. “It’s such an anxious thing every semester, to be unsure whether or not you’ll get your job back.”  TAKING ACTION  “I’m here to help tell the Board of Trustees that it’s time to get a contract for full-time faculty and adjuncts alike,” said Bill Crain, professor of psychology at City College.  “The administration awarded themselves enormous raises, while most faculty, especially part-time faculty, are underpaid.”  Union members across CUNY are writing to Chancellor Matthew Goldstein to urge a prompt and fair contract settlement. To send a letter of your own, go to the “Act Now” page on the PSC’s Web site, www.psc-cuny.org.