Professional Staff Congress (PSC) President James Davis released the following statement about the reinstatement of three members of The Fired Four, Brooklyn College adjunct faculty members who lost their jobs at the City University of New York (CUNY) in June 2025 in apparent retaliation for expressing their political views about Palestinian human rights.
“We recently learned that three of the Fired Four are eligible again for employment anywhere at CUNY, including Brooklyn College, starting this semester! One of the three has a Spring 2026 appointment at Brooklyn College; the other two have Spring 2026 appointments at other CUNY colleges. Reinstatement of the fourth faculty member, who was terminated, allegedly for cause, remains a priority for the PSC, our members, and our allies.
“This is a major victory against the New McCarthyism, even if it is not complete. It is important both in terms of restoring these harmed colleagues to their jobs and repudiating the administration’s callous disregard for the academic judgment of faculty, for First Amendment protected speech, and for academic freedom.”
The Professional Staff Congress (PSC), the union representing 30,000 faculty and professional staff at CUNY, has mounted a sustained campaign on behalf of the Fired Four since Spring 2025, when the union passed a resolution condemning their retaliatory dismissal and demanding their immediate reappointment. Since then, the CUNY-wide union and its Brooklyn College chapter have delivered 3500 letters to management, testified, organized multiple rallies and pickets, filed grievances, presented at hearings, held press conferences, and other actions to hold the CUNY administration accountable to its professed principles of academic freedom and free speech.
Published: January 26, 2026
