May Day Action All Next Week | New in Clarion

Next week, PSC members will be wearing red, “blitzing” campuses about May Day and union membership, attending local campus events, and marching in the citywide May Day mobilization on Friday, May 1st. It’s part of a nationwide organizing project to unite the labor movement and immigrants rights groups to defend democracy, reject ICE brutality, and demand a system that works for working people – not one that’s rigged to make the rich richer.

Our May Day Captains have been organizing throughout CUNY, recruiting members to take action the week of May Day and building power for the fights ahead. The PSC’s May Day plan, a video, and slides you can use to educate colleagues and students about May Day are posted here on the website. Here’s the schedule:

PSC staff, member leaders, and May Day Captains will be out in force on every campus all week long, distributing May Day stickers and posters and adjunct door hangers, and inviting folks to get involved and turn out on May Day. Look for a table or team on your campus.

WEAR RED – all day, wherever you are. Wear a PSC t-shirt, your own favorite red outfit or accessories, or grab a red PSC sticker. Then post a group photo or a selfie on social media. Use #PSCMayDayProud or just tag the PSC so we can boost your post. If you’re not on social media, email photos of members in red with name and campus/worksite info to [email protected], so we can post them online. You can also click here to join the PSC’s May Day WhatsApp group and share photos there.

Speakout for Adjuncts – 12:30-2:30 PM, in person and online. Join adjuncts to share stories, demand respect, and build for May Day at a cross-campus hybrid Adjunct Spring Speakout. Register here to participate online via Zoom or join us for in-person speakouts at City College (NAC rotunda, by the library), John Jay College (L2.70.01), or Hunter College (Hunter West Lobby). Adjunct doorhangers, May Day stickers and posters, and other materials will be available at the in-person speakouts.

Court watch then Pizza with the Immigrant Solidarity Working Group –12:00-2:30 PM, PSC Office, 25 Broadway. Join us at the courts at 7:30 AM if you can, then all members are invited to come to the PSC office to charge up for the day of action. Registration is required for food and building access. Fill out this form to register.

NY Metro Coalition for Higher Ed May Day Pre-Rally 3 PM, The New School. We’ll gather with other New York City higher education unions at The New School, 13th St & University Pl., then march to Washington Square Park for the citywide march. Click here to tell us you’ll meet us at the New School or at the main march.

Citywide May Day March, PSC members meet between 4:00-4:30PM by the Garibaldi Statue at the East End of Washington Square Park. Join the PSC as we unite with the NYC labor movement and immigrants rights groups for a citywide march from Washington Square Park to Foley Square. The program, which includes a PSC speaker, starts at 4:30PM. Step-off for the march will be between 5:15 – 5:30PM. Click here to tell us you’ll meet us at the main march or at the New School and click here to join the PSC May Day WhatsApp group, which we’ll use for day-of coordination.

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced his veto of Intro 175-B on Friday, April 24. PSC President James Davis released the following statement.

“Mayor Mamdani proved himself a champion of students, faculty and staff once again today when he vetoed Intro 175-B. This “buffer zone” legislation would jeopardize First Amendment rights to free expression for all New Yorkers irrespective of religion, race, or nationality, imposing new restrictions near any vaguely defined “educational facilities.” That includes CUNY campuses, which are worksites and sites of political expression. Intro 175-B is unnecessary, unconstitutional, and invites selective repression of speech with which the bill’s sponsors disagree. It is anathema to the mission of our university and the values of our city.

“We thank the Mayor for his veto and urge the members of the City Council who voted against 175-B to continue to stand with the First Amendment and sustain the veto should the Council attempt to override it.”

Mayor Mamdani recently stood up for students, faculty and staff and vetoed a New York City Council-passed “buffer zone” bill, Intro 175-B. The bill aims to repress free expression near educational institutions, including CUNY campuses and worksites. Our union, the PSC, is firmly opposed to this proposal: join us in telling the New York City Council to SUSTAIN THE VETO of 175-B!

SEND A LETTER TO YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER

Register now for a live question and answer session on the New York City Employees PPO plan, the new health insurance plan for active employees, pre-Medicare retirees, and their dependents that took effect January 1st of this year. Attendees will hear from and have a chance to ask questions of PSC leaders and experts from EmblemHealth, UnitedHealthcare, and the PSC-CUNY Welfare Fund. All dues-paying members of the PSC are invited to participate.

GET THE ZOOM LINK FOR THE HEALTH CARE TOWN HALL

William Herbert, a good friend and member of our union and giant of the labor movement, died last weekend. Herbert was a distinguished lecturer and executive director of the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions at Hunter College. For 13 years, he led the National Center, ushering a revitalization of its research and managing its programming, including an annual labor-management conference that marked its 53rd year in March. Before that, Herbert served as chief legal officer of the New York State Public Employment Relations Board. He also worked as senior counsel for CSEA Local 1000 and as an attorney at New York City Commission on Human Rights. As co-editor-in-chief of Lefkowitz on Public Sector Labor and Employment Law, a tome found on every good labor lawyer’s shelf, Herbert literally wrote the book on public-sector labor law in New York.

PSC First Vice President Jen Gaboury, who was William Herbert’s union chapter chair at Hunter College, said “Bill’s passing is a devastating loss as a lawyer, scholar, collaborator, and friend to so many of us. The work he did at the Center was nationally important, and Bill can’t be replaced. One could count on Bill for guidance in so many things, including which Steve Earle song you should use at an upcoming event. I miss him terribly already.”

Join us in demanding that CUNY take action now to defend immigrant students and community members by:

• Immediately hiring at least two permanent full-time staff members on every campus whose jobs are solely to support immigrant students
• Establishing an Immigrant Student Success Center on all campuses that do not already have one with their own dedicated space.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN PETITION

Court Support Every Friday Morning

Please join with fellow PSC members to bear witness and support immigrants who are called to the courts at 26 Federal Plaza. Spanish speakers are especially helpful. Meet any Friday at Pret, 7:30 AM at 319 Broadway, across the street from 26 Federal Plaza. PSC training is required to participate. Watch the PSC web calendar and the This Week newsletter for the date and time of the next training.

LaGuardia Community College (Mainstage Theater)
45-50 Van Dam Street, Long Island City

Borough hearings of the CUNY Board of Trustees are an opportunity for the CUNY community to demand action from the Board on a wide range of issues.

All are welcome to testify, but the hearing represents a convenient opportunity for PSC members at CUNY Law School, LaGuardia Community College, Queens College and Queensborough Community College to have their voices heard. Possible topics could include campus health and safety, adjunct job security, or faculty and students’ First Amendment rights and academic freedom on campuses.

Persons wishing to testify are required to notify the Office of the Secretary via email at [email protected] PRIOR TO NOON FRIDAY, MAY 8. Your name, college, contact information and the topic you plan to address should be included in the email. (Say that you plan to testify on a university issue at the Queens Borough Hearing and identify the issue.) Copy PSC Communications Director Fran Clark at [email protected] when you email the Secretary, so we know that you will be there. Testimony is limited to three minutes. Substitution of registered speakers is not permitted. Bringing a print version of your statement to submit to the Board when you testify is recommended, but not required. Whether you can make it in person or not, written testimony of any length can also be uploaded to the Secretary’s Dropbox at this link before 12:00 noon, Wednesday, May 13. Here is the official hearing notice.

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