Responding to MAGA Republicans’ Cynical Attack on Higher Education
CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez testified alongside top administrators from U.C. Berkeley and Georgetown yesterday, Tuesday, July 15, at a hearing of the House Education and Workforce Committee. The hearing was the ninth in a series that have purported to be about combating antisemitism. In reality, the hearings are part of a broad, systematic attack on higher education. Read about it in The City, the NY Daily News and the Chronicle of Higher Education.
PSC President James Davis released a statement in response to Chancellor’s testimony and the mischaracterizations of MAGA Republicans like New York State Rep. Elise Stefanik:
“This hearing is another cynical attempt to use real anxiety about rising antisemitism to ambush university leaders, smear faculty, slash funding, and delegitimize institutions that are essential for a working democracy. An administration that is serious about confronting civil rights violations would not move to decimate the Department of Education, including the Office of Civil Rights, as Trump and his congressional allies have just done….” Click here for the full statement.
Faculty Unions and NYC Electeds to MAGA Republicans: Hands Off Higher Ed! Hands Off CUNY!
A day before the hearing, PSC, AFT, and AAUP defended free expression and academic freedom on college campuses and opposed the MAGA Republican assault on American Universities. PSC members gathered with NYC elected officials in City Hall Park for a press conference resisting MAGA’s new McCarthyism and condemning the recent firing of four CUNY faculty members apparently for their protected political expression. Click here for the press release. Photos, quotes and videos are posted on the PSC’s Instagram. An interview with President James Davis and coverage of the press event were featured on NY1’s Inside City Hall.
Rally and March with the PSC Tomorrow
“Good Trouble Lives On in Us" Mass Mobilization
Meet at 5:00PM, Thursday, July 17, Foley Square
Join your PSC colleagues and thousands of fellow New Yorkers as we rally and march tomorrow, Thursday, July 17th, in remembrance of John Lewis and in defense of civil rights: Good Trouble Lives On In Us. PSC members will meet at 5:00 PM to distribute signs in front of the New York County Supreme Court (60 Centre St, New York, NY 10007) before joining the 5:30 rally in Foley Square. The action will include a march circling 26 Federal Plaza and a final moment of silence and solidarity. RSVP to join the PSC contingent now. Make good trouble!
RSVP: GOOD TROUBLE, JULY 17
PSC Members Defending Immigrant Rights in the Courts
Every Friday morning this summer, PSC members who have gone through a union training are gathering at the immigration courthouse in Lower Manhattan to support immigrant New Yorkers. Since June, ICE and DHS have had an increased presence in NYC federal courtrooms as they accelerate cruel detentions and deportations. We do not confront or interfere in any way with law enforcement, but by distributing valuable information and observing hearings, we are able to support those who attend legally mandated hearings. If you are interested in joining the work of the Immigrant Solidarity Working Group, or if you want to attend a training to be a courtroom observer or to distribute fliers in front of the federal courts, sign up here. We will announce the date of the next Zoom training soon.
Upcoming Bonuses and Retroactive Paychecks
MAGA’s Cynical Attack on Higher Education | Upcoming Bonuses and Retroactive Paychecks
Deadlines to Increase Retirement Withholdings Ratification bonuses for eligible part-time employees and retroactive pay and wage increases for all eligible employees will be implemented over the next four weeks. Then the next scheduled raises will then come in September. Here is the schedule: July 24: Pro-rated ratification bonus for eligible…
CUNY Faculty Union Leads Rally Denouncing the ‘New McCarthyism’ Being Wielded Against U.S. Universities
The Indypendent: City University of New York faculty, staff and their allies held a rally near City Hall Monday to defend public education and condemn the MAGA attacks prior to Congressional hearings on Tuesday, where CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez and leaders from the University of California and Georgetown…
House Republicans Grill CUNY Chief on Campus Antisemitism Claims
The City: City University of New York Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez was the latest higher education leader to be grilled about efforts to tamp down on antisemitism on the university’s 26 campuses Tuesday morning, where he avoided engaging directly with House Republicans’ assertions that the union representing tens of…
3 College Presidents Went to Congress. Here’s What They Talked About.
The Chronicle of Higher Education: Three more university leaders testified on Tuesday before the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee about their campus responses to antisemitism — the ninth such event in the past 18 months. This time, the hearing featured the chancellors of the City University of New York…
U.S. House Republicans grill CUNY leader over campus antisemitism, pro-Palestinian advocacy
NY Daily News: A Republican-led congressional committee grilled City University of New York Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez on Tuesday over rising antisemitism on its campuses, leveling their most pointed attacks against faculty members. The CUNY leader — joined by the heads of Georgetown and University of California-Berkeley — struck a…
Four CUNY Professors Say They Were Fired for Supporting Palestine
The Intercept: Four adjunct professors at the City University of New York say the university fired them because of their activism for Palestine. The administration’s decision to cut ties came as a surprise to both the faculty and their department heads, who had already recommended their reappointment and assigned them…
Union president talks antisemitism, free speech on CUNY campuses
NY1: Some elected officials rallied Monday to defend the City University of New York school system and condemn congressional Republicans. On Tuesday, CUNY’s chancellor, alongside leaders from U.C. Berkeley and Georgetown, will testify before the House Education and Workforce Committee. The hearings will focus on antisemitism on college campuses, but…
PSC says adjuncts were fired for supporting Palestine
The Chief: Three Brooklyn College adjuncts in various departments were notified on June 13 that they were not reappointed — even though they had been assigned classes for the upcoming fall semester, according to a recent letter to CUNY Chancellor Matos Rodríguez from the Professional Staff Congress.
PSC Condemns Retaliatory Firing of CUNY Faculty | Retro for Part-Timers
CUNY management’s initial guidance on eligibility for retroactive pay required part-time employees to have been on payroll on January 13, 2025, the official contract ratification date. The PSC pointed out that this policy was unfair and inconsistent with our agreement because it effectively excluded from eligibility any part-timer who worked…
Professional Staff Congress, NYSUT Join With Other Higher-Ed Unions To ‘Slam’ Federal Research Funding Cuts & ‘Demand Across-The-Board Restorations’
WNY Labor Today: In New York City, Researchers at the City and State’s Public Universities affected by cuts to Federal grant funding urged the State’s Congressional Leaders to oppose further cuts to funding proposed in President Donald Trump’s big beautiful Bill. Members of the Professional Staff Congress (PSC), the New…
