Contract Pickets at CUNY Central

PSC chapters and titles are teaming up to organize a series of pickets to keep the pressure on CUNY management for a fair contract. There are two next week: Brooklyn and Queens chapters will be at CUNY Central Tuesday, November 12th at 5PM and Bronx and Staten Island chapters will be there Thursday, November 14th at 5PM. CUNY Central is in Midtown at 205 E. 42nd St. Sign up here to participate in the picket organized by your chapter.

We know these actions have an impact. At the October 30th picket, high-level CUNY administrators forced to confront PSC members from Manhattan chapters averted their eyes in shame and rushed past our protesters as they left work. They hear our chants, read our signs, and see our numbers.

Which picket will you join?

All dues-paying members are welcome to observe a bargaining session after they have attended the online orientation. Your next opportunity to attend an orientation is:

• Monday, November 18, 6:30pm. Register here for the 11/18 Zoom.

PSC President James Davis called the outcome of this Tuesday’s election “devastating and dangerous” in an email to PSC members. “Trump’s election is a victory for fascism in the United States. His anti-worker, misogynist, racist, xenophobic agenda will make many lives more miserable and painful here and around the world if left unchecked,” he wrote. Read the full message here on the PSC website, breathe, and prepare for the struggles ahead.

The PSC is part of a growing coalition of grassroots organizations and labor unions mounting a “Protect our Futures” rally and march in Manhattan this Saturday November 9th at 12 noon. The event will begin with a rally at Columbus Circle. Fill out this PSC webform to let us know you will come.

RSVP: Protect Our Futures March, 11/9

We’ll take stock about the election and talk about next steps at an online debrief open to all PSC members on Monday, November 11th at 12PM. Click here to fill out the Zoom registration.

RSVP: Election Debrief, 11/11

Management has hastily rolled out a new Policy on Sex-Based Misconduct. They failed to properly consult and bargain with the PSC over the policy’s implementation and have not provided appropriate training and guidance for CUNY workers. That said, the policy is currently in place, was issued pursuant to federal regulations, and is intended to prevent sex-based misconduct. It is important that PSC members do their best to understand and comply with the policy while the union advocates for your interests.

The union has filed a grievance and has met with the administration about the policy. Our goals are to protect victims of sex-based misconduct and comply with relevant federal regulations, while also ensuring the collective bargaining relationship and due process for PSC members. The meeting was productive, but we are awaiting a direct response to our demands that CUNY provide paid training and clear guidance to our members on the policy changes. This full message to members posted on the PSC website details the union’ engagement with management regarding the policy change and answers the questions about it that we have heard most often from members. More questions will be answered at an AAUP webinar, Title IX: What Faculty Should Know, next Wednesday, November 13 at 2 PM. Register here.

NYS law requires all faculty and staff to take the annual New York State Ethics Training. PSC is pursuing a grievance to properly compensate adjuncts for attending such training. However, the training is required under NYS law. PSC recommends that members complete the training when directed to do so by their college. In addition to the requirements of the PSC-CUNY contract, CUNY’s own policy requires that these trainings are compensated, either through the professional hour provision in Article 15.2(b) or at the non-teaching adjunct rate.

One suggested response for adjuncts in response to emails from your HR office about the training is as follows:

• I am in receipt of your email directing me, pursuant to Article 15.2(b) of the collective bargaining agreement, to use two paid professional hours to complete the required New York State Ethics Training. Since I have a limited number of paid professional hours available to repurpose from my office hours this semester, completing the required Ethics Training will leave ___ professional hours for this semester. Please ensure that only __ additional hour/s of required training will be scheduled this semester.

For adjuncts serving on appointments of longer than one semester:

• I am in receipt of your email directing me, pursuant to Article 15.2(b) of the collective bargaining agreement, to use two paid professional hours to complete the required New York State Ethics Training. Since I have a limited number of paid professional hours available to repurpose from my office hours this semester, completing the required Ethics Training will leave ___ professional hours for this semester. If further trainings are required of me for the 2024-2025 academic year, please ensure that only __ additional hour/s of required training will be scheduled this semester and any additional hours scheduled next semester.

2024 Friends of CUNY & Salute Our Scholars Fundraiser

December 10, 6PM, John Jay College
Tickets are available to CUNY faculty and staff for the annual Friends of CUNY & Salute Our Scholars fundraiser event to benefit the Belle Zeller Scholarship Trust Fund. Proceeds from ticket sales will help provide financial aid to CUNY students who demonstrate a commitment to social change and academic excellence. The Fund was established by the PSC in 1979 and honors the PSC’s founding president, Belle Zeller, Professor Emerita of Political Science at Brooklyn College, where she taught for more than 40 years. Learn more and buy tickets here.