CUNY and Professional Staff Congress Announce Tentative Labor Agreement Covering Over 30,000 CUNY Employees

December 16, 2024

Agreement Includes Full-Time and Part-Time Faculty, Adjuncts and Professional Staff

Provides Over 13% Wage Increase Over Nearly 5 Years and $3,000 Lump Sum Ratification Bonus

CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez and James Davis smile while shaking hands across a table

CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez and PSC/CUNY President James Davis shake hands this morning.

The City University of New York today announced that it reached a nearly five-year agreement with the Professional Staff Congress for over 30,000 full- and part-time faculty and professional staff at the nation’s largest urban public university. The agreement, which was approved by the CUNY Board of Trustees tonight and is subject to ratification by the union membership, runs from March 1, 2023, to Nov. 30, 2027; it provides retroactive and future wage increases of 13.37% across the life of the contract and a lump sum ratification bonus of up to $3,000.

“Full-time and part-time faculty and professional staff are at the heart and soul of the CUNY system, responsible for fulfilling our mission to provide a high-quality public education to all students, regardless of background,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “This inclusive contract is a testament to our commitment to our teaching and non-teaching staff and determination to ensure CUNY continues to provide students with a top-tier education. We thank Gov. Hochul for her support and PSC President Davis for their partnership in getting this deal done just in time for the holidays.”

“I’m proud to recommend an agreement to PSC members that delivers gains for all faculty, staff and graduate employees at CUNY and respects the quality and importance of their work,” said James Davis, PSC/CUNY president and professor of English at Brooklyn College. “By securing better pay and working conditions, stronger benefits and additional equity raises for adjuncts and our lowest-paid full-time colleagues, we are making CUNY a better place to work and learn. Our thanks to Gov. Kathy Hochul, Chancellor Matos Rodríguez and the CUNY negotiators, our labor and community allies, the PSC’s own bargaining team, and the thousands of PSC members who made the contract campaign a success. Ultimately, this contract will mean a better education for CUNY students. That’s a goal we all share.”

The agreement includes:

  • Ratification Bonus: One-time lump sum payment of up to $3,000 (pro-rated to part-time staff)
  • Wage Increases: Wage increases across the board for over 30,000 employees including full-time and part-time faculty, and full-time and part-time non-teaching instructional staff, spread across four years:
    • 2023: 3%
    • 2024: 3%
    • 2025: 3.25%
    • 2026: 3.5%
  • Increase Pay for Adjuncts: Adjunct lecturer pay will be increased in 2026, and starting in summer 2027, adjuncts will be paid per course.
  • Paid Parental Leave: Expanded from eight to 12 weeks with eligibility for foster care.
  • Welfare Fund: Contributions will be increased in support of employee benefits and wellness.
  • Continuation of Several Pilot Programs: Multi-year appointments for teaching adjuncts and stipend payment for defined projects. Also agreed to an enhanced research award program and a lecturer advancement program.

If ratified, all of CUNY’s unionized workforce will be under a collective bargaining agreement. Earlier this year, CUNY announced a labor contract covering over 10,000 employees including: custodial staff, college assistants, information technology staff, and public safety officers affiliated with District Council 37, Teamsters Local 237, Service Employees International Union Local 300, Motion Picture Projectionist, Video Technicians, Theatrical Employees and Allied Craft, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 306, and the New York State Nurse Association.

CUNY Chancellor Matos Rodríguez and PSC/CUNY President Davis met this morning with leaders from the University and the PSC to sign the Memorandum of Agreement. The Chancellor thanked various University leaders for their efforts throughout the process, including Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer Hector Batista; Senior Vice Chancellor for University Human Resources and Labor Relations Doriane Gloria, a key leader in the negotiations; Senior Vice Chancellor for Budget and Finance and Chief Financial Officer Sherif Soliman for his guidance on the budget; and University Executive Director of Instructional Staff Labor Relations Alex Bernstein.

The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving more than 240,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “genius” grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit https://www.cuny.edu.

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