Achieving a PSC-CUNY contract isn’t just about the talks at the bargaining table. It is also about engaged and energetic protests in the streets and on campuses. The activism of rank-and-file members from all campuses and all titles was a central part of this arduous contract campaign.
PSC members have struggled for nearly two years to reach a contract with CUNY, which expired in February 2023. To kick off the campaign, members delivered their demands to CUNY management during a spirited rally outside CUNY headquarters. The contract campaign has taken many forms, with a variety of activist tactics to pressure the CUNY administration to agree to a good and fair collective bargaining agreement.
Members marched in the heat and in the cold, in the early morning hours and after sundown. They participated in a civil disobedience action outside of a CUNY Board of Trustees hearing. They protested outside CUNY headquarters and the office of Bill Thompson, the chair of the BOT. They held actions on campuses across the five boroughs, engaging students, community members and other union workers at CUNY. They attended numerous trainings and strategy sessions over the course of 2023 and 2024.
In short, it is the tenacity of the PSC membership that makes this union strong, and it is the membership’s dedication to activism that has allowed the PSC to wage a successful contract campaign.
FEBRUARY 2023: Launching the contract campaign on the day of the contract’s expiration outside CUNY headquarters. (Credit: Dave Sanders)
MAY 2023: Faculty members hold a “grade-in” at John Jay College. (Credit: Erik McGregor)
JUNE 2023: Lehman College members raise awareness at graduation. (Credit: Paul Frangipane)
DECEMBER 2023: A “sing out, shout out” action takes place outside the governor’s office. (Credit: Erik McGregor)
MAY 2024: Demanding job security for adjuncts and HEOs. (Credit: Erik McGregor)
MAY 2024: Filling the Board of Trustees meeting at Bronx Community College. (Credit: Erik McGregor)
JUNE 2024: Outside Bill Thompson’s office. (Credit: Erik McGregor)
OCTOBER 2024: PSC members get arrested blocking the entrance to John Jay College during a Board of Trustees hearing. (Credit: Erik McGregor)
(Credit: Erik McGregor)
NOVEMBER 2024: Members picket outside CUNY headquarters. (Credit: Erik McGregor)
Published: December 20, 2024
