New Health Benefits Plan January 1st

The Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) has approved a new health benefits plan for active employees, pre-Medicare retirees, and their dependents. The New York City Employee PPO Plan, administered by Emblem and United Healthcare, will replace the current GHI plan administered by Emblem and Anthem/Blue Cross starting January 1, 2026. The contract will first be reviewed by the NYC Comptroller and be available for public comment. The plan’s implementation follows two years of negotiations between representatives from the NYC Office of Labor Relations, the MLC, and the insurance companies. The other health plans now offered by the City will continue to be offered. Medicare-eligible retirees and their dependents are not affected by the new NYCE PPO, and supplemental benefits (Rx, Dental, Vision, etc.) provided by the PSC-CUNY Welfare Fund will remain unchanged.

Many questions arise when changes are made to health benefits plans. PSC will schedule information sessions for members and announce dates soon. The City will offer an Open Enrollment period from November 1 – November 30, so participants will have time to make an informed decision. Updates will be made to the PSC webpage, What’s Happening to Our Healthcare?, including an FAQ page. Click here for some immediate clarifications, information on how to confirm if your provider or hospital will accept the new plans, and how to submit comments to the City about the contract.

This Monday is the 6th day of the GOP’s shutdown of the federal government. Last week, PSC leaders stood with Governor Hochul, labor and political leaders from across New York to condemn the shutdown and demand that Congress protect our health care. NYC Central Labor Council President Brendan Griffith condemned the Trump administration and its allies in Congress for “holding the federal government hostage and plunging working people into needless turmoil.” He also called out Trump’s vindictive move to freeze funding for the Hudson Tunnel Project and the Second Avenue Subway.

PSC members can demand that their representatives protect access to quality, affordable healthcare by sending the AFT’s new e-letter to Congress.

Send your letter right now!

New Location & Time for the March:
Duarte Square, 6th Avenue & Canal Street, 11 AM

On October 18, we the people say, “No Kings!” We refuse to stand by while this administration escalates its authoritarian power grab—sending masked agents into our streets, targeting families, abandoning public education, making college less affordable, kicking millions off healthcare, taking food from hungry children, and waging war on workers’ rights—all to give massive tax cuts to corporations and billionaires.

Plans for the NYC No Kings mobilization have been updated as momentum has increased. For the first time, this No Kings mass mobilization will have a labor contingent with dozens of NYC unions, showing the power of organized labor in the face of authoritarianism. The labor feeder march will start Saturday, October 18th at 11 AM from Duarte Square, between the intersections of 6th Avenue, Canal Street, and Grand Street (map). Labor unions will march up 6th Avenue and will converge with the main march at 14th Street. Tell us you’ll be there.

RSVP HERE FOR NO KINGS, 10/1

U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young ruled last week that the Trump administration’s policy of arresting, detaining, and deporting noncitizen students and faculty members for their pro-Palestinian advocacy violates the First Amendment. The American Association of University Professors (AAUP), the Middle Eastern Studies Association and several AAUP chapters brought the suit (AAUP v Rubio) with the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. The key issue was whether non-citizens who are lawfully in the US have the same rights as citizens under the First Amendment. The PSC is a proud affiliate of the AAUP.

Tuesdays, 6:30-8:00PM, Hybrid

Register here to participate in one or more weekly Tuesday evening hybrid phone banks cosponsored by the PSC and the NY Working Families Party. Make calls from home or from the PSC office (25 Broadway, 15th Floor). Dinner at 5:30PM.

Wednesdays, 6:00-8:00PM, In-Person

Register here to participate in one or more weekly Wednesday evening in-person phone banks cosponsored by the PSC and the NYC Central Labor Council. Make calls from the PSC office (25 Broadway, 15th Floor). Dinner provided.

Retirees Welcome! Court Support Every Thursday and Friday in October

PSC members who have gone through the union’s court watch training are welcome to join the Immigrant Solidarity Working Group to bear witness and support immigrants called to the courts at 26 Federal Plaza. PSC Retiree Chapter members, who often have decades of activist experience, are encouraged to participate in the online training and the weekly court watch. We meet Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 AM sharp in Thomas Paine Park, at the northern end of Foley Square. The next training for members is on Tuesday, Oct. 7th 6:30 PM sharp–register here.

Check the PSC web calendar for opportunities to get engaged this week on your campus as we work together to protect our institutions, advance our political work, and defend our rights in the workplace. PSC chapters will be co-hosting environmental/civic engagement town halls, holding chapter meetings, and staffing tables to sign up new union members and help you plug into our Federal Fightback and Get Out the Vote campaigns.

The PSC continues to fight for reinstatement of the four adjuncts who lost their jobs at Brooklyn College and other CUNY colleges this summer for their advocacy for Palestinian human rights. To show support for the Fired Four and push back against the New McCarthyism on CUNY campuses, PSC members will wear Red for Higher Ed at work this Thursday, October 9th. Then the Brooklyn PSC chapter will lead a Rally at CUNY Central to Support the Fired Four on Friday, October 10th starting at 12:00 PM. Be there! Click here to let the Brooklyn chapter know you’ll be wearing red and/or at the rally.

On September 26, Alicia M. Alvero, CUNY’s Interim Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost, sent a message on behalf of the Office of Academic Affairs that contained a section on academic freedom. While the message does not alter CUNY policy, the current political climate demands that PSC members are clear about the scope of academic freedom. The PSC’s Academic Freedom Committee has prepared this factsheet to set the record straight.

The Trump administration sent letters to nine universities on October 1 proposing an “academic compact.” They would receive preferential treatment for federal funding if they adhered to certain conditions. These conditions, as reported, have nothing to do with academic integrity or quality and function as an ideological litmus test. While the City University of New York was not among them, academics and higher education workers everywhere understand the stakes of what the Trump administration is attempting. If you have contacts at any of the “invited” universities, please urge them to notify their administration of the coercive and likely illegal nature of the proposed “compact.” The AAUP and AFT presidents immediately condemned this move, which came directly from the White House. While Trump advisor May Mailman and Education Secretary Linda McMahon are the face of the “compact,” reporting has revealed the extent to which Marc Rowan and Steven Schwarzman, two of the wealthiest U.S. billionaires and donors to the Trump election campaign, are engineering acquiescence to the President’s agenda from targeted universities. As the Dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law recently wrote in the New York Times, “This is extortion, plain and simple.” The “academic compact” marks a major escalation in the Trump crusade against university autonomy and academic expertise and must be defeated.

Wednesday, October 15, 7:00PM

Register Here

How can higher ed unions proactively address the implementation of AI on their campuses and in their classrooms to ensure that workers’ rights are protected? In this webinar hosted by our national affiliate, experts including members of UUP/SUNY and PSC/CUNY will discuss strategies for bargaining over AI-related issues, from job duties to compensation, to intellectual property and privacy issues, job security and deployment in the classroom.

The PSC’s Teacher Education Working Group invites educators throughout CUNY to participate in our first annual research forum. The day-long program, held in the PSC Union Hall (25 Broadway, 15th Floor), will feature twelve panelists, recipients of the PSC-CUNY Research Award Program, whose scholarship addresses critical issues of equity and advocacy in education. Our panelists come from disciplines across the scholarly education communities that include urban education, public affairs, early childhood, elementary and middle education, school psychology, counseling and leadership, special education, and English and science education. These scholars will share their research and insights in what promises to be a compelling conversation about advancing equity and advocacy in education. Coffee, lunch, and afternoon refreshments provided. Register at no cost at PSC-CUNY.ORG/EdResearchForum2025. Download a flier here to share with your colleagues in teacher education.

October 24, 4:30–7 PM
PSC Union Hall
25 Broadway, 15th Floor

RSVP Here

Join us for a meaningful conversation where your voice takes center stage. The Power of Our Voices in Modern Labor is a space specifically designed by and for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) members to share their experiences and build community within CUNY and the PSC. We’ll explore what keeps members from fully engaging with the union and discuss the resources and support BIPOC members need to thrive and how the PSC can become more inclusive and responsive to all members.

Whether you’ve been involved with the union for years or have felt disconnected at times, we want to hear from you. Every perspective enriches our understanding and strengthens our path forward. Tell us you’ll be there.

October 28, 6:30-8:30 PM
NYU Cantor Center, 36 E. 8th St. (2nd floor)

Save the date for a citywide higher education organizing meeting. There will be speakers, including AAUP President Todd Wolfson, and time to meet with colleagues from other NYC area institutions to plan the next stage in the metro-area fightback against the Trump Administration’s attacks on colleges and universities.