PSC Condemns Retaliatory Firing of CUNY Faculty | Retro for Part-Timers

On June 26th, the PSC’s Delegate Assembly unanimously passed a resolution In defense of academic freedom and against the retaliatory firing of CUNY faculty. The resolution was introduced in response to the unexplained, irregular firing of four Brooklyn College teaching adjuncts in what appears to be retaliation for their lawful political expression outside of the classrooms. No reasons were provided for the non-reappointments and the adjuncts’ department chairs were not notified in advance. What the four instructors have in common is their public protest against Israeli policies and advocacy for Palestinian rights. PSC President James Davis said, “the situation has all the appearances of an ideological purge” in a June 30th letter to the Chancellor. Both the resolution and the letter condemn the retaliatory dismissal of the faculty members and demand their immediate reappointment. The University Faculty Senate Executive Committee also communicated concern to the Brooklyn College president about non-reappointments “due to extracurricular political expression,” and reminded her that AAUP governance principles state that in “questions of faculty status, as in other matters where the faculty have primary responsibility,” presidents should “concur with the faculty judgment except in rare instances and for compelling reasons which should be stated in detail.”

Looking for Georgetown and University of California Alumni

PSC members and allies will gather on the steps of City Hall Monday, July 14 at 12:30 PM for a Hands Off Universities! Hands Off CUNY! press event to resist the MAGA crusade to dismantle universities and repress speech rights. Sign up here to let us know you’ll be there and please tell us on the same form if you’re an alum of Berkeley or Georgetown.

The press event will come a day before CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez will appear before Congress next Tuesday alongside the leaders of U.C. Berkeley and Georgetown in a hearing of the House Committee on Education and Workforce entitled “Antisemitism in Higher Education: Examining the Role of Faculty, Funding, and Ideology.” This hearing and other actions of the Trump Administration have been about limiting political speech while purporting to be about protecting Jewish students and academics. Their broad, systematic attack on higher education seeks to discipline and defund universities, reverse years of social progress, and suppress research and teaching that doesn’t comport with the MAGA agenda.

Universities have a responsibility to ensure the safety of all students, faculty and staff and to maintain the open dialogue and diverse perspectives that help make for a more pluralistic and democratic society.

RSVP: HANDS OFF CUNY, 7/14

The nation-wide coalition of groups that organized the Hands Off! and No Kings! protests are mobilizing again on Thursday, July 17th for an action in remembrance of John Lewis: Good Trouble Lives On In Us. The New York City Good Trouble team will center the demand for civil rights for immigrants and for every person in our communities. PSC members will meet at 5:00 PM to distribute signs in front of the New York County Supreme Court (60 Centre St, New York, NY 10007) before joining the 5:30 rally in Foley Square. The action will include a march circling 26 Federal Plaza and a final moment of silence and solidarity. RSVP to join the PSC contingent now. Make good trouble!

RSVP: GOOD TROUBLE, JULY 17

The budget reconciliation bill passed last week enacts a billionaire-first agenda that will make things even worse for Americans struggling to make ends meet by stoking inflation, raising interest rates and forcing people to pay more for healthcare, food and utility bills. It will rip food assistance and medical insurance from many of our students and neighbors and will shift public tax dollars to private schools with a permanent school voucher scheme. It attacks higher education as well: College endowments will be taxed at a higher rate, the amount parents and graduate students can borrow in federal student loan programs will be reduced, and loan repayment plans will change, leading to higher payments for borrowers with the lowest incomes. Pell Grants were not cut.

The greatest threats to CUNY in the reconciliation bill are likely to be the federal cuts to Medicaid, SNAP and other programs that will leave massive shortfalls in the state and city budgets. There will be pressure to reduce funding for public institutions and/or to raise tax revenue to fill the losses.

Last Monday, June 30th, the City Council voted unanimously to approve the City’s $116 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2026. In a statement released the same day, PSC President James Davis said: “ After cuts of $96 million and more than 500 full-time jobs lost since FY20, the New York City Fiscal Year 2026 budget is the righting of the ship. PSC members have been teaching, advising, counseling, and supporting students with inadequate resources. This funding enables CUNY to build back positions lost to vacancies, and hiring should start now.” Click here to read the full statement.

The PSC’s Defending Research Working Group held a press conference on Monday, June 30th to release our open letter to the New York Congressional delegation calling for a full-throated defense of federal funding for research at CUNY and SUNY. The letter has been endorsed by more than 2,000 researchers and allies at CUNY and SUNY colleges. City Comptroller Brad Lander joined the event, and researchers who have had their grants terminated spoke powerfully. Click here to read more and here to see videos from the event.

“Union Members’ Stories” is a new video project to support the PSC membership campaign. The videos, starting with a series of member profiles in different titles, will be featured on the website, on social media, and in This Week newsletters. Our next subject is Joanne Canalas, a College Laboratory Technician who is head of library technology services at Bronx Community College.