One of the biggest gains of the last PSC-CUNY contract, in addition to substantial across-the-board wage increases, was equity raises for titles that needed them most. These raises exceed the across-the-board annual negotiated increases in an effort to improve equity and make gains for CUNY’s lowest paid faculty and professional staff titles.
Daniel Casey, an instructor at Hostos Community College’s CUNY Language Immersion Program, or CLIP. (Photo by Erik McGregor)
Teaching adjuncts have already received a big boost.
On January 26, 2026, hourly rates increased for the vast majority of CUNY’s teaching adjuncts, with rates for the lowest paid and most numerous title, Adjunct Lecturer, increasing by 12% above the Fall 2025 rate. The pay for an Adjunct Lecturer’s three contact hour course increased by $725. Other teaching adjunct titles experienced similar increases, with another raise coming on September 1 of this year, all representing progress toward the union’s longstanding goal of equal pay for equal teaching work at CUNY. See details here.
Lynne Turner, vice president for part-time personnel, noted that the union represents more than 11,000 teaching adjuncts, who provide the majority of CUNY’s undergraduate instruction. The equity raises are important gains in the continuing fight for fair pay for part-time faculty. “A priority of our union has been to move forward around pay equity for adjuncts and other titles,” she said. “Teaching adjuncts at CUNY have faced the issues related to compensation that make it difficult to meet all of the expenses of a city like New York City and issues related to contingency. We’ve had to push CUNY very hard.”
Turner said the union will continue to push for more in the next contract. “We still will be continuing to push as we go forward. Our goal is pay parity,” she said.
Adjuncts are just part of the story. Assistants to HEO will receive a $1,000 equity raise in the Fall. CLIP and CUNY Start Instructors will receive $2,000, and all titles in the College Laboratory Technicians series will receive $5,000. These titles will receive lump sum equity adjustments by the first pay date in November (11/6/26 for NYC payroll and 11/12/26 for NYS payroll).
Graduate Assistants A and B will receive $4,000, while Graduate Assistants C and D will receive $1,000, with their lump sums arriving by the first pay date in December (12/4/26 for NYC payroll and 12/10/26 for NYS payroll). These raises for some CUNY’s lowest paid full-time workers are the most substantial of the bunch over the life of the contract. , When the across-the-board increases and the equity raises are accounted for they amount to between 23.9% and 43.4% for Graduate Assistants A and B and between 16.9% to 30.6% for Graduate Assistants C and D. (See the table below for the schedule of salary increases for the full-time titles receiving equity increases.)
The equity raises paid as lump sums in Fall 2026 will then be included in their base salary as of March 1, 2027, to be paid out over the course of the regular pay periods.
John Gallagher, a HEO chapter delegate and a director for technology at BMCC, said, “Those of us in the HEO chapter have long been advocating for equity when it comes to our assistant to HEO colleagues,” who do “some of the most difficult work in our title.”
“Much of our power comes from a mobilized membership and when HEOs, of all ranks organize and mobilize there is no stopping us. Full-time assistants to HEOs deserve to be properly compensated,” said Justyna Jagielnicka, a university-wide officer on the PSC executive council. “They are hired and entrusted to do important work across all CUNY campuses. ”
Jagielnicka, a College Discovery program counselor at Borough of Manhattan Community College, added, “Assistants to HEOs work in Admissions, Registrar, Academic Advisement and Financial Aid offices to name a few. They service students in Health Offices, provide assistance to international students and immigrant students. They help first-generation students navigate the higher education institution, oftentimes serving as an ally and a mentor all in one.”
Zeno Wood, a PSC cross-campus officer and a college laboratory technician at Brooklyn College, said, “The CLT is one of the lowest paid full-time job titles and this will really help given the higher cost of living. This is not just a one-time lump sum, but this meaningfully raises our salaries, thus helping reduce the ever-growing gap between job titles. This means that overall, CLT’s got a salary raise of 18-24%–thanks to cross-title solidarity and a recognition that raising the floor benefits us all.”
Daniel Casey, an instructor at Hostos Community College’s CUNY Language Immersion Program (CLIP), said he welcomed the incoming “substantial bump-up, coming shortly after the regular annual step increase” that will add to the pay for fellow members.
The agreement also states, “$2,500 will be provided to all active full-time Lecturers and Doctoral Lecturers, including all EOC Lecturers, who had attained their Certificate of Continuous Employment (“CCE”) prior to September 1, 2026.”
Lecturers who earn a CCE after September 1, 2026 will get the $2,500 payment upon attainment.
| Schedule of Salary Increases for Titles Receiving Additional Equity Increases | ||||||
| 3/1/2023 | 4/1/2024 | 9/1/2025 | 9/1/2026 | 3/1/2027 | Total Increase 2023-2027 | |
| Assistant to HEO | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.25% | 3.5% + $1000 lump sum on first pay date in November | + $1,000 on base | Ranging from 14.8% to 15.6% |
| All CLT Titles | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.25% | 3.5% + $5,000 lump sum on first pay date in November | +$5,000 on base | Ranging from 18.46% to 23.9% |
| CLIP & CUNY Start Instructors | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.25% | 3.5% + $2,000 lump sum on first pay date in November | +$2,000 on base | Ranging from 15.5% to 17.4% |
| Grad Assist. A & B | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.25% | 3.5% + $4,000 lump sum on first pay date in December | +$4,000 on base | Ranging from 23.9% 43.4 % |
| Grad Assist C & D | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.25% | 3.5% + $1,000 lump sum on first pay date in December | +$1,000 on base | Ranging from 16.9% to 30.6% |
- Beginning March 1, 2027, NTAs I & II, Adjunct CLET, Adjunct Senior CLT, and CET-H will receive an additional equity increase of two dollars per hour.
- Top-step Assistants to HEO will receive the $1250 increase for members at the top step instead of the $1000 equity increase.
Published: April 2, 2026
