Bargaining Updates 26 and 27

Bargaining Update 27, August 13

Joined by 24 members in the Union Hall, the Bargaining Team presented data to refute management’s assertions that expanding job security for teaching adjuncts would create too big a group of faculty for whom CUNY will be obliged to find classes during a period of uncertain enrollment. The PSC also followed up on a demand concerning salary increases with promotion and reclassification and on paid parental leave. CUNY management has agreed in concept to the former. Management pushed for the extension of various expiring pilot programs and raised frustrating questions about CLT promotions. Read the full update.

Bargaining Update 26, August 7

With 27 member observers present, the bargaining session at CUNY Central was devoted almost entirely to adjunct multi-year appointments. CUNY announced their intention to move forward on two PSC demands:

• Adjuncts teaching jumbo courses would be compensated, where applicable, by the same multiplier used if a full-time faculty member were teaching the course.
• Pertaining to multi-year appointments, CUNY agreed to expand the program to include adjuncts who teach in interdisciplinary programs – instead of just departments.

The PSC and CUNY continue to debate issues regarding eligibility for a multi-year appointments, the length of time of the appointment, the conditions under which an appointment might be broken, and options to fulfill an adjunct’s required 6-credit workload if courses are not available. Read the full update.

Observe Contract Bargaining

All dues-paying members are welcome to observe a bargaining session, after they have attended the online orientation. Hundreds of PSC members have already, and every observer adds to our power. Your next opportunity to attend an orientation will be Wednesday, September 4, 6:30-7:30 PM. Register here for the 9/4 Zoom.

Online Mass Meeting

PSC members have worked 18 months with an expired contract. We’ve been at the bargaining table 28 times! There’s been important progress but the delay has hit home for members! Our basic demand for a just contract with real raises has not hit home for Chancellor Matos Rodríguez. He doesn’t get that job security, faculty and staff rights, and professional respect are not slogans–PSC members take attacks on them personally.

Attend the Fall ‘24 Online Mass Meeting 6:30 PM Monday, September 9 to hear about the progress we’ve made and the obstacles that CUNY management has put in our way. Log on to the Zoom to hear questions answered and get involved in the campaign! We’re taking the fight to the Chancellor!

RSVP: MASS ZOOM MEETING, SEPT. 9

March with the PSC in the NYC Labor Day Parade – Saturday, September 7

March for a fair contract with real raises, job security and gains for all PSC-represented titles in the annual NYC Labor Day Parade September 7th, the Saturday after the federal holiday. Help raise up our demands and be in solidarity with other New York City unions. Click here to tell us you’ll join the Labor Day Parade. The front of the parade steps off from 44th St. & Fifth Ave. at 10:00AM. The step-off time and staging area for PSC members are still tentative: 12:30PM, East 46th St. between 5th and Madison Aves. Sign up to save the date and we’ll follow up with details.

RSVP: Labor Day Parade, Sept 7

CUNY Adjuncts Must be Paid on Time

PSC President James Davis has sent a letter to Chancellor Matos Rodríguez demanding that all CUNY adjuncts receive their first paycheck on time. On-time pay should be a given at a 21st century university. But at the start of nearly every semester, the union hears from adjuncts facing financial stress because of late paychecks.

Tell the Chancellor: Adjuncts Deserve On-Time Pay and Job Security!

Add your name to this petition that amplifies President Davis’ demand for on-time adjunct pay. The petition, directed to the chancellor, also supports our union’s demands for increased job security for adjuncts.

Petition for On-Time Pay, Job Security

Urging the Trustees to Vote No on the Bylaws Changes

On August 16, PSC President James Davis wrote to the CUNY Board of Trustees urging them to vote against proposed changes to the CUNY bylaws that would erode the academic authority department chairs and confound many provisions of the PSC-CUNY contract. The letter refutes misrepresentations made by Provost Wendy Hensel before the Board regarding the scope of the changes. The changes are not merely clarifications. It cites the contract, state law and a history of arbitrational precedent in support of the union’s position that the bylaw changes must be bargained.

“[CUNY’s] organizational structure is clear and well established through past practice and the collective bargaining agreement. To the extent there is a need to further clarify these roles, that must be done through negotiations with the PSC, as the bargaining and arbitration history demonstrates,” it reads.

Tell Us about Your Experience Learning Brightspace

The PSC has filed a grievance arguing that CUNY has violated our contract by failing to provide any compensation, including but not limited to pay at the hourly teaching rate, release time or workload credit, for additional required Brightspace training. Our understanding is that members have been spending time to train themselves in Brightspace, as well as to convert their courses to Brightspace.

We have submitted a detailed information request to CUNY in relation to the grievance and are also gathering our own data. Please complete this survey to assist us in investigating this grievance.

Take Brightspace Survey

Help Elect the Harris-Walz Ticket
Elect Pro-Educator Candidates in Crucial New York Congressional Districts.

Get on the bus, the phone, or write postcards!

The general election is almost here and PSC’s get-out-the-vote operation is in full swing! Join PSC members on Zoom to make phone calls to other educators in important swing congressional districts on Long Island! You can register for our first two calls, at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, September 3 and Wednesday, September 11. For in-person phone banking opportunities in Long Island, sign up with NYSUT here.

We also need you to help send VP Harris and (former AFT member!) Governor Walz to the White House. Fill out our Election Team sign-up form so PSC can connect you to a wide range of volunteer opportunities, including traveling out of state to support the Presidential ticket.

Contact Sam Lewis ([email protected]) for more information.

Decarbonize CUNY Town Halls

Throughout September, the PSC’s Environmental Justice Working Group (EJWG) will host a series of “Decarbonize CUNY Town Halls” on campuses across the university. These events will bring together faculty, staff, students, community leaders, and energy experts to build awareness and support for a clean energy transformation at CUNY. Thanks to recent legislation, including the Inflation Reduction Act, the New York Power Authority is newly empowered to be a true leader in the transformation of our energy infrastructure toward public renewables. The EJWG is collaborating with Public Power NY to seize this opportunity, educate and organize our community, and advocate forcefully for clean, renewable energy on all CUNY campuses.

Join us at one of the upcoming town hall meetings, beginning on September 5th at the Graduate Center and continuing through the end of September at nine different campuses across all five boroughs. For a complete list of actions, and more information, visit psc-cuny.org/decarbonize.