Retroactive Pay | 150+ Rally at Brooklyn College

On Thursday, July 31st, more than 150 City University of New York faculty, staff, and students joined City Council Member Alexa Avilés braving the rain and rallying outside Brooklyn College to demand the immediate reinstatement of four faculty members fired in violation of their academic freedom and as apparent retaliation for protected First Amendment speech. Speakers condemned the increased repression of political speech at CUNY as part of the Trump Administration’s McCarthyite campaign to dismantle and defund higher education. Read more here and see additional photos and videos on the PSC’s Instagram.

Send a strong message here in defense of academic freedom to Brooklyn College President Michelle Anderson, CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez, and CUNY Board Chairperson William Thompson. The letter demands the immediate reinstatement of the Brooklyn College adjuncts who were fired as part of an apparent political purge. The targeting of these workers for their public support of the Palestinian people just days before the McCarthyite July 15 congressional hearing of the Committee on Education and Workforce cannot stand.

Send the letter now

The next mass meeting sponsored by the PSC Immigrant Solidarity Working Group will be held on Zoom on Wednesday, August 13 at 6:30 PM. All PSC members are welcome to attend. Register here to get the meeting link.

The meeting agenda will include a political update and a review and discussion of our courthouse support work. Additionally, ICE has just been allotted an additional $50 BILLION above their regular budget. This poses an increased threat to our students, institutions and city. We must show our opposition now and when the semester begins. Plans for campus-based solidarity work, a mass demonstration, rapid response, and legal and legislative challenges to ICE will also be discussed. Register now to RSVP.

Court Support Every Friday

Every Friday morning this summer, PSC members who have gone through a union training are going to federal courthouses in Lower Manhattan to support immigrant New Yorkers who are being targeted by ICE and DHS for detention and deportations. We do not confront or interfere with law enforcement, but by distributing valuable information and observing hearings, we are able to support those who attend routine mandated hearings. If you’ve participated in the PSC’s court support training, you are welcome to show up any Friday at 7:30 AM sharp in Thomas Paine Park, at the northern end of Foley Square.

Members who have not participated in the online courthouse support training can register here for a Zoom training Tuesday, August 19 at 6:30PM.

The PSC was proud to join a citywide coalition of labor unions representing over 400,000 New York City union members to condemn ICE’s escalating attacks on our communities and pledge solidarity with immigrant community members. The full statement was endorsed by 1199SEIU, 32BJ SEIU, CWA District 1, the Hotel & Gaming Trades Council (HTC), New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), and UAW Region 9A.

“New York City’s labor movement is united in sounding the alarm about the Department of Homeland Security’s plan to ‘flood the zone’ to intimidate, harass and racially profile immigrants across our city. We are deeply disturbed by ICE’s escalating tactics of targeting immigrants at courthouses, denying residents’ due process and civil rights, raiding workplaces, and firing munitions at protestors. These unlawful intimidation tactics have no place in New York City and will make our city less safe.

“Like many generations of New Yorkers before them, our members have come from all over the globe to seek a better life for themselves and their families. They leave their homes before dawn every day to care for the sick, provide essential services and build skyscrapers. They are the engine of our businesses and our prosperity. Many have come fleeing violence, exploitation, and political instability to feel safe. Targeting them and their families—including by ripping away legal status—harms all of us. ICE’s actions in courts, workplaces and neighborhoods are not in the service of protecting New Yorkers. Instead, they aim to stoke fear and division. We call on all of our elected leaders to protect and defend working New Yorkers and keep our communities free of fear.”

The PSC’s resistance to the Trump Administration’s attacks on our civil liberties, institutions and democracy will be central to our Labor Day parade. Sign up here to be part of the PSC contingent as we march with 200 other New York City unions in an invigorating display of solidarity and worker power. The event will be an opportunity to reengage with the working groups and committees defending immigrants, research funding, academic freedom, LGBTQ+ rights and bodily autonomy.

The parade steps off from 44th St. & Fifth Ave. and will progress up Fifth Ave. to 64th St. PSC members meet at 9:30 AM on West 44th St. between 6th Ave. & Broadway. We are scheduled to step off at 10:15 AM. Sign up to save the date and we’ll follow up with details.