State Budget Results | PSC Member Stories HEO Edition

In a message sent to CUNY Chancellor Matos Rodríguez and Brooklyn College President Anderson on May 8, PSC President James Davis condemned the use of NYPD Strategic Response Group (SRG) to intimidate and disperse a group of roughly 30 non-violent student protesters at the Brooklyn College campus that day. See the message here.

The enacted New York State budget for next year (Fiscal Year 2026) provides a substantial increase for CUNY over last year’s budget. It also establishes a targeted program of free tuition, fees, and books for some community college students.

Funding for CUNY State Operations, which encompass the senior colleges, university wide programs and operations, and other initiatives, increased by $147.5 million plus an additional $34 million in to cover our PSC-CUNY collective bargaining costs. A portion of the funding to cover CUNY’s rising fringe benefit costs is included within the state operations budget, as are year-over-year increases for the college completion programs ACE and ASAP ($8M), the opportunity program SEEK/College Discovery ($564K/$27K), Murphy Institute/School of Labor and Urban Studies ($2M), and other initiatives. Funding for CUNY community college base aid increased by $5.3 million. This much needed extra funding brings the state closer to its community college funding obligation. The enacted budget also provides $284.2 million in capital funding to the CUNY senior colleges and $35.1 million in capital funding to the CUNY community colleges. Click here for more information about the enacted budget.

In response to these budget details, PSC President James Davis said:

“Years of PSC member advocacy and political work has resulted in another state budget that will lead to real improvements for CUNY students, faculty and staff. The PSC thanks Governor Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and their respective leadership teams for ensuring that CUNY has the money to fully fund our contract and hire hundreds of additional faculty and staff at the senior and community colleges.

“Investing in CUNY and the communities that we educate is the right way for Albany to respond to the attacks on higher education and funding cuts that keep coming from the White House and Congress. PSC members are committed to working with the Governor and the Legislature to protect the quality of a CUNY education –and keep our students and members safe– no matter what new outrages come out of Washington.”

To help you better understand ranked choice voting (RCV) and why the union’s endorsement strategy for mayor has five candidates with three top ranked candidates, sign up for the RCV Primer for PSC Members scheduled for 6:30 PM on May 19 and June 9. Register here to receive the Zoom link for either session.

PSC members will deliver the No ICE/DHS on CUNY Campuses petition to CUNY Central at the end of May. Date TBD.

We’re compiling online and paper petition signatures now and need as many names as possible on the petition ASAP. (Student names will not be made public.) Please click this link to sign your name now if you haven’t already. Share the petition link with your networks. You can also download a flier with a QR code linking to the petition. The deadline for submission of handwritten signatures is May 19th. Please bring hard copies to the union office or scan and send copies to Danny Kaplowitz: [email protected]

SIGN PETITION: NO ICE ON CAMPUS!

Prepare – Protest – Protect – Powerbuild:
What we need to know and do in the upcoming period.

Register here to attend in-person starting at 6:30 PM or online starting at 7:30.

6:30 PM In keeping with best practices for mutual security, this section will be in person only: Professor Talia Peleg, Associate Professor of Law at the CUNY School of Law and Co-director of Immigrant and Non-citizen Rights Clinic. Prior to CUNY Law, Peleg was an adjunct Supervising Attorney with NYU School of Law’s Immigrant Rights and Advanced Immigrant Rights Clinics. Professor Peleg will provide updated information and guidance on protest, rapid response, and travel. Information that is crucial to protect ourselves and others given the rapidly changing parameters of this work.

7:30 On Zoom and in person: Murad Awawdeh, President & CEO @ The New York Immigration Coalition, NY’s largest organization on immigration justice, representing over 200 member organizations and millions of immigrant New Yorkers. Awawdeh, a skilled strategist and organizer who has mobilized hundreds of thousands of people and won critical legislative victories for immigrant communities, will share information on the work of NYIC and lead us in conversation about how can we be prepared for what may occur on the immigration front that may involve PSC members, our students, and our researchers, who are both citizens and non-citizens.

CUNY runs on the labor of nearly 14,000 adjuncts and part-timers. To make their labor visible, the PSC Committee for Adjuncts and Part-timers is hosting a hybrid, cross-campus “Grade In, Speak Out” event this Thursday, May 15th. PSC members can participate in person Thursday from 1:00 – 3:30 PM at either John Jay College (Atrium, New Building) or The City College of New York (NAC Rotunda). Stop by an in-person event to take part in the collective, visible grading action, to hear speakers and to grab a slice of pizza. CUNY ID is required for building entry. The online portion of the event is open to all and starts at 1:30 PM. Register here for the Zoom. Join us and share your lived experience as an adjunct or part-time worker at CUNY.

Find more information and materials for our Adjunct Visibility campaign here and sign the petition demanding that CUNY honor the multi-year appointment agreement here.

The PSC is committed to expanding access to high quality, affordable health care for all New Yorkers. PSC members can attend an in-person discussion about legislation to provide single payer health insurance in New York State on Friday, May 23rd at 12:30 PM in the PSC Union Hall (25 Broadway, 15th Floor.) State Senator Gustavo Rivera, lead sponsor of the NY Health Act, will be our guest speaker. This is an in-person event that will also be live streamed. Registration is required for the in-person event. Please register at this link by May 20th, if you plan to attend in person. The streaming link will be posted on the same PSC calendar link the day of 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 first subject is Cheryl Morrison, a Higher Education Associate working at York College and a PSC delegate.