2012 PSC Elections: Ballots Mailed This Week
On April 2, ballots are being mailed to members’ homes for the election of the 27-member Executive Council (including president, first vice president, secretary and treasurer), and delegates to the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), and American Association of University Professors (AAUP). All of these elected positions are for three-year terms. Completed ballots must be received by April 27 and will be counted on April 30. If you believe you are eligible to vote and have not received a ballot by April 6, please call the PSC at 212-354-1252. (See the 2012 Elections webpage.)
Opposition to Pathways Continues to Rise
A petition for the repeal and replacement of Pathways has drawn well over 4,100 verified signatures so far, and the number continues to grow. And the list of elected faculty bodies opposed to Pathways has also expanded as BMCC’s Academic Senate and the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate at Medgar Evers College both passed resolutions against Pathways last week. Actions by the Brooklyn College Faculty Council and other faculty bodies are pending. To keep track of the growing campaign, see the list of resolutions, letters and statements being compiled by The University Faculty Senate. To add your name to the petition, click here.
State Budget Wrap Up: New Funding for Community Colleges and Adjunct Health Insurance
After a budget season of intense advocacy from the PSC and our statewide affiliate, NYSUT, the Legislature passed a final State budget for fiscal year 2013 that fully funds CUNY’s mandatory cost increases, including funding for adjunct health insurance, and increases base aid to community colleges by $150 per full-time equivalent student. The Legislature also restored $540,000 for CUNY childcare centers and $1 million for the LEADS program, which serves students with disabilities. Some opportunity programs also received additional funding, including C-STEP, which received $778,000 and operates at eight CUNY colleges. (Learn more about PSC’s State budget campaign.) The NY DREAM Act, legislation supported by the PSC to expand the State’s Tuition Assistance Program to cover undocumented students, was not funded.
The budget did not close corporate tax loopholes and it relied once again on tuition hikes to help fund CUNY.
Sign Up for CUNY at the Council—Wednesday, May 2; Lobby with CUNY Students
Mayor Bloomberg’s executive budget proposal will be released in late April. His preliminary budget plan, released in January, falls short of CUNY’s budget request by $12.8 million. $8.2 million of the shortfall is needed to fund CUNY’s mandatory cost increases, and $4.6 million is needed to hire additional full-time faculty and expand academic tutoring, career counseling and mental health services. The Mayor’s plan also doesn’t fund more than $19 million in council-supported programs like Vallone Scholarships, Safety Net financial aid, and the Murphy Institute for Worker Education.
To urge the City Council to restore the requested funds and invest further in CUNY, the PSC is cosponsoring a student-faculty-staff advocacy day called CUNY at the Council, along with the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) and the University Student Senate (USS). Join us on Wednesday, May 2 in meeting with City Council members to tell them what CUNY needs. We’ll be meeting with council members in their offices at 250 Broadway.
Contact Amanda Magalhaes (212-354-1252 ext. 221) to register to take part in lobby visits attended by students, faculty and staff from CUNY. CUNY students can sign up by stopping by their local NYPIRG office.
Upcoming Reappointment Dates
Notice of reappointment and non-reappointment for Higher Education Officer Series members in their first and second years of service should be received by April 1. Lecturers, Instructors and untenured faculty and CLT’s in their first year of service hired on September 1, 2011 should receive their notice on or before April 1. For Lecturers, Instructors and untenured faculty and CLT’s in their first year of service hired on February 1, 2012, notice should arrive by May 1. Lecturers in their second year of service should also receive their letters of reappointment by April 1. Teaching and non-teaching adjuncts hired on a semester-to-semester basis should get their notice on or before May 1, and adjuncts entitled to a yearly appointment should receive their notice on or before May 15, 2012.
If you do not receive a letter, or if you receive a letter of non-reappointment, contact a faculty grievance counselor on your local campus, if available, or contact the PSC office for a HEO or faculty grievance counselor at 212-354-1252 as soon as possible. The deadline for filing these grievances is May 11, 2012 for all April 1 notifications, June 13 for May 1 notifications and June 27 for May 15 notifications.
Advocate PSC Legislative Priorities in Albany
Budget season is over, but the legislative session will continue through June. PSC members and our partners at NYSUT are still hard at work advocating for legislation that will improve working conditions for CUNY faculty and staff. Sign up for the May 21-22 NYSUT Committee of 100 Lobby Day in Albany, and help us advocate laws to improve CUNY trustee selection, increase transparency at the CUNY Research Foundation, provide unemployment insurance for adjunct faculty, and prevent workplace bullying. (See the PSC’s full list of legislative priorities.) Contact Amanda Magalhaes (212-354-1252 ext. 221) to sign up. Transportation, food and housing costs for the trip to Albany are covered by NYSUT.
May Day Celebration—Save the Date: May 1
This year’s May Day demonstration will begin at 4:00PM on Tuesday, May 1, with a rally at Union Square. A march from Union Square, through Foley Square and on to Wall Street will begin at 5:30PM. The union will announce our meet-up location in a future issue of This Week and on the website when the date is closer. A flier is available for download on the Solidarity Committee webpage.
If you’ve just joined TRS…
Adjuncts who signed up to join TRS shortly before April 1, but who have not yet submitted a beneficiary form, proof of date of birth (copy of birth certificate or passport), and their letter of appointment, must not miss the April 30 deadline for those documents. If you do, your TRS enrollment will not take effect. (See www.psc-cuny.org/TRS-April-30-documents for more.)
Don’t Forget About Your Member Benefits and Discounts
If you’re planning a get-away for the spring break or thinking ahead to summer, don’t forget that PSC members receive special discounts through our statewide affiliate NYSUT. Through NYSUT’s association with Working Advantage, you can get discount tickets for movie theaters, movie rentals, theme parks, online shopping, Broadway Theatre, museums and attractions, special family events and more. You can also reserve hotels and rentals, flights, cruises, car rentals, vacation packages, browse destinations, plan road trips and book group travel using discounts available through NYSUT. Visit these links on the NYSUT website to learn more: TripMark.travel , Wyndham Hotels and Vacation Rentals and Car & Truck Rental Discounts.
