Urging Albany to Fund CUNY | Protecting Academic Freedom

Republicans in Congress are planning to fund a massive tax giveaway for corporations and the rich with over two trillion dollars in cuts from Medicaid, Medicare, housing and food assistance, student loan support, and other vital programs. An unelected billionaire has been given free rein to shut down services, force layoffs, and access the financial information of hundreds of millions of Americans.

We have the power to stand together against oligarchs and hard right congress members. Sign up here to march with the PSC in a mass mobilization of the city’s most active unions and community coalitions. Thousands of New Yorkers will be there to tell Washington: No cuts to working people to fund tax breaks for billionaires and corporations!

I WILL BE THERE MARCH 15

More than 350 students, faculty, and staff from CUNY and SUNY rallied with legislators inside the state Capitol Wednesday, February 26 to support a platform of increased funding for New York’s public university systems, broader access to free tuition, and more financial aid. A coalition of student organizations, community groups, and academic unions, including the PSC and UUP, organized the rally to kick off our annual Higher Education Action Day. Activists bused and carpooled from as far as Buffalo, Plattsburgh, New York City and Stony Brook to attend the event. We met with more than 100 legislators and their staff, sharing our stories and expertise to make the case for higher education investment. Read more about the annual Higher Education Action Day on the PSC website and on the union’s Instagram

State legislators stopped by the PSC table during the Higher Education Action Day to share their support for CUNY on camera. They spoke up for increased CUNY funding, for quality public higher education, and for the New Deal for CUNY. We’ll be sharing their messages throughout the week. Check out this video from Senator Andrew Gounardes for a preview, and tune in to the PSC Instagram for more videos all week!

President James Davis registered the PSC’s strong objection to Governor Hochul’s directive to remove a college-approved job posting for a professor of Palestinian Studies at Hunter College in a February 26th letter to the Governor and the Chancellor. Calling out the violation of academic freedom, Davis wrote that it is “an overreach of authority to rule an entire area of academic study out of bounds.”

“An elected official dictating what topics may be taught at a public college is a line that should not be crossed,” the letter went on to say. Read the full letter here. The AAUP also wrote the Governor and Chancellor to express objection to the move. You can read their letter here.

On CUNY campuses and across the nation, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an important part of the law that prohibits discrimination in schools, is at risk of being weaponized. Faculty at CUNY are facing complaints that could trigger Title VI investigations when a student objects to a classroom topic or choice of words.

The PSC will host forums on Thursday, March 13 and Tuesday, March 25 at 6:30 PM in the union hall to discuss academic freedom, Title VI, and free speech in the PSC-CUNY context and in the national context. Panelists from the union’s contract enforcement and legal departments and our Academic Freedom Committee will be at the March 13th forum. Guest speakers from the Cornell School for Industrial and Labor Relations and the American Association of University Professors will join us for the March 25th forum. RSVP for the events here.

Mayoral candidates will gather in the PSC Union Hall again on Friday, March 14th from 5-7 PM for a candidates’ forum about the future of CUNY. Entrance to the building at 25 Broadway requires pre registration and space is limited. Students are welcome to attend. RSVP here.

RSVP: CUNY RISING MAYORAL FORUM

Seventy million people get their healthcare through Medicaid. Yet the republican majorities in Congress are planning cuts to the program. Cutting Medicaid would lead to children losing access to dental care, doctor visits and more. It would cause hospitals to close or reduce services, and lead to loss of long-term services for older Americans and people with disabilities.

Send this letter in support of Medicaid to your representative, then share the AFT’s latest video about why it’s so important to stop any cuts to Medicaid.

Bluesky | Facebook | Instagram | Threads | Twitter

The PSC is building a file of members’ stories that can help in our fightback against the Trump administration’s attacks on higher education and the communities we serve at CUNY. We’re asking for examples we might use in a lobby meeting with an elected official or share with the press, with your permission. And we’re looking for stories that could be featured in videos to motivate public support.

Share a story with us in the links below:

• Tell us how the work you do at CUNY upholds diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Tell us how your research is being undermined by President Trump’s cuts to NIH funding.

PSC members may be eligible for a state-funded union-designed child care subsidy that can save parents an average of $15,000 – $18,000 per year (per child).

To learn more about the subsidy, you can read this fact sheet and fill out a pre-screening form. PSC members can also attend an online information session hosted by the PSC at 7PM, Monday, March 10th. Register here for the Zoom meeting.