February 7th marked the 11th contract negotiation session. Nearly 30 PSC members joined the bargaining team at CUNY Central for what was both a constructive and frustrating meeting. CUNY management continued to bring forward proposals that would offload managerial responsibilities onto workers and erode job security for more titles. Other proposals would limit benefits and curtail leave for librarians, counselors, and clinical professors. Management voiced interest in expanding the stipends provision negotiated in the last contract for certain defined projects that are not part of the employee’s normal responsibilities. The stipends are currently a pilot program due to expire in June. They also proposed changes to the observation and evaluation process for faculty teaching in-person and online. Read the full update.
Observe a Bargaining Session!
PSC members’ presence during contract negotiations has been invaluable. It’s more important than ever as we approach the bargaining session marking the one year anniversary of our contract expiration on Thursday, February 29th.
All dues-paying PSC members are welcome to observe a bargaining session after completing an online Orientation to PSC-CUNY Bargaining. If you have not yet attended an Orientation to PSC-CUNY Bargaining on Zoom, your next opportunity will be Monday, March 4, 6:30-7:30 PM. Click here to register for the March 4th Zoom.
One Year Without A Contract Informational Pickets
Next Thursday, February 29th, on the one-year anniversary of our contract expiration, PSC members will hold informational picket lines and demonstrations on campuses throughout CUNY.
Sign up on the Spring ’24 Count Me In Pledge Form to join a picket line on your campus. Or stop by the line to grab some new fliers and a One Year Without A Contract poster to hang in your workspace or on your office door.
Picket times in the mid-day and on-campus locations are listed here on the PSC web calendar. Chapter leaders and staff organizers will contact you when you sign up.
COUNT ME IN!
Contract for #APeoplesCUNY Spring ’24 Mass Online Meeting
Wednesday, March 6, 6:30PM
Be part of a mass online demonstration of solidarity and support for a strong new contract! Hear the latest from the PSC Bargaining Team after a dozen bargaining sessions with CUNY management and a year without a contract. Learn what you can do in Spring ‘24 to escalate the campaign to win a Contract for #APeoplesCUNY.
REGISTER FOR THE MARCH 6TH ZOOM
The City Wants Lower Insurance Costs. It Needs a Basic Rethink
By Barbara Caress
With their efforts to save money at the expense of retiree’s healthcare stalled, the City is turning now toward active municipal workers’ health insurance. The Mayor’s office is in talks with the Municipal Labor Committee, Aetna and UnitedHealth/Emblem about the near-impossible task of saving $1 billion annually while maintaining care for 1.25 million beneficiaries with the same level of coverage without “significant increases in member out-of-pocket cost.” The process has stalled and been in and then out of arbitration. Blue Cross (Anthem), the City’s main current insurer, has filed a lawsuit. It’s a tangle of policy and politics that puts us all at risk.
Barbara Caress, an expert on health care administration and an adjunct professor of health policy at Baruch College, has been instrumental in the fight for retiree health care. Her latest piece, “The City Wants Lower Insurance Costs. It Needs a Basic Rethink,” unpacks what’s happening and offers three worker-friendly ways to reign in health care and health insurance costs.
The PSC continues to believe that public-sector workers—active and retired–should oppose all efforts to undermine our health care and erode benefits. Watch for further updates from our union, and be ready to get back in the fight to protect the health care benefits we’ve earned.
Status of Multi-year Appointments for Teaching Adjuncts
President James Davis emailed teaching adjuncts and department chairs earlier this week updating them on the status of adjunct job security negotiations and recommending three concrete steps to help ensure that multi-year appointments remain available beyond this academic year. Read the message to adjuncts here.
Published: February 23, 2024 | Last Modified: February 26, 2024
