Pensions Lawsuit
The PSC is suing CUNY on behalf of our members (click here to read the lawsuit) because the administration has failed to properly deduct and submit pension contributions for hundreds of PSC members to the city pension systems. Our members have been left owing payments and interest that in some cases has amounted to tens of thousands of dollars. PSC member Celia Sporer, professor of criminal justice at Queensborough Community College, tells her story in the 5/21/23 New York Daily News.
There are other pension failures as well. Some retirees are still waiting for their pensions to be credited with back pay from the 2010-2017 contract!
- We want our members who have been affected made whole, to have the interest and their lost tax benefits covered, or their pensions fully credited.
- We want the Court to order CUNY to modernize their systems—this can’t keep happening!
- And we want the Court to put an independent auditor in place to identify members who are being affected and don’t yet know it.
PSC members should check your pay statements and confirm that you pensions deductions are being taken out. In addition, you can log on to their TRS or TIAA account and see your status. TRS sends annual statements as well, which you should be able to get online. If you’ve discovered a problem with your pension deductions, and you are not already in contact with the union, email Greg Douros in Contract Enforcement at [email protected].
Research Foundation Central Office Workers Vote in Favor of Strike Authorization
Almost 80% of PSC members at the CUNY Research Foundation (RF) Central Office voted in favor of strike authorization last week rather than accept management’s offer on their latest contract. 93% of eligible members participated in the vote. The RF admits they have the money to give our members larger raises–they just refuse to do so. Management has responded to the vote by taking the workers’ back pay off the table and refusing to continue bargaining.
The workers, who are unaffected by the state Taylor Law’s anti-strike provisions because they are not public-sector employees, are preparing for a possible strike. They are picketing today at the RF headquarters before their monthly all-staff meeting with RF President Hector Cordero Guzman. You can help today by sending him a message.
Click-to-tweet the following message or email a version of it to the RF president at [email protected]:
New York City Budget for CUNY
The City Council Finance Committee’s annual public hearing on all matters relevant to the mayor’s executive budget is happening today, and PSC members are testifying. The city budget is due July 1 and negotiations between the council and mayor are picking up steam; please send the tweet and/or letter below and tell them that CUNY cannot, under any circumstances, take any additional cuts, and must see its funding increased.
Click-to-tweet this message to the Mayor and City Council
It’s CUNY Commencement Season and the Final Month of the NYC Budget Fight
Send A Letter to the Mayor and the City Council
The City Council has been outspoken in its support for CUNY. But now it’s time to insist that CUNY get all the funding it needs in the enacted City budget.
A People’s Hearing on Social Media for the People’s University
The PSC’s legislative team is coordinating A People’s Hearing on Social Media for the People’s University next Thursday, June 1 for those members who want to speak up for CUNY funding but don’t have all day to hang around City Hall. To participate all you need to do is share a 20-30 second video story about the importance of funding CUNY. You can post your story directly on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtags #CareNotCuts and #FundCUNYNow. Or you can upload a video to a Google Drive we will provide and the PSC will share your story for you.
Sign up below and Tiffany Brown, PSC legislative coordinator, will follow up with you.
Let us know that you will share a short video story
LOCATION
On Twitter & Instagram
DATE AND TIME
06/01/23 9:00am – 06/01/23 5:00pm US/Eastern
Suggested video topics: Positive impacts of advisement, counseling & other services, harms to students from budget cuts & understaffing.
Remote Work Agreement Extended Through Next June
A message went out Monday informing HEOs, CLTs, faculty librarians, and others that the PSC has secured an agreement with CUNY to extend the remote work agreement through June 30th, 2024. The agreement provides a framework for agreements between workers and supervisors about the schedule and duration of remote work and guarantees certain protections when we are working remotely. Affected workers can now, finally, concretize their work and personal plans as they continue to serve CUNY students with flexible work schedules. Click here to join your Campus Action Team and be a part of the union’s campaign to win a contract that provides for remote work and flexible scheduling, fair raises and other advances.
Published: May 24, 2023
