PSC to the CUNY Board of Trustees: 5,676 Say Repeal Pathways
PSC members filled the room at Monday’s CUNY Board of Trustees meeting as the union presented a petition calling for the repeal and replacement of Pathways, CUNY’s new austerity-inspired framework on general education. 5,676 CUNY faculty and staff signed the petition before it was delivered to each CUNY trustee and college president; the petition and signatures were displayed on large signs at the Board meeting.
During the Trustees’ opening remarks and the Chancellor’s report, dozens of PSC members stood up in protest. As they stood up, some members held signs showing the total number of petition-signatories or the number of signatories at their college. Other members’ signs showed the Board that the petition was signed by majorities of CUNY department chairs and CUNY distinguished professors, and by half of the Pathways Common Course Review Committee. After the petition action, the members chanted “Almost 6,000 have spoken, Pathways is broken!” as they marched out of the board room. Stay up to date on the developing campaign on the Repeal Pathways campaign page of PSC-CUNY.org.
CUNY at the Council
New York City Council members’ offices were full of CUNY faculty, staff and students on May 2 at the PSC’s annual “CUNY at the Council” grassroots lobby day. To press the case for increased CUNY funding, a total of 120 people took part in 36 meetings, covering more than 70% of the Council’s 51 districts. Today Mayor Bloomberg released his executive budget proposal; see www.psc-cuny.org for details and PSC’s response.
Join the Campaign to Stop Workplace Bullying & Pass the NY Healthy Workplace Act
Nearly half of American workers have experienced workplace bullying, either as a victim or as a witness. That’s not right – and it undermines both health and productivity. State law provides remedies for workers who are discriminated against based on gender, race, religion, or other protected status, but it provides no help for workers who are abused or mistreated for other reasons. That’s why PSC is joining the fight to change the law by passing the NY Healthy Workplace Act, a bill that would give workers the right to sue their employers if they have been harmed psychologically, physically, or economically by workplace bullying. (See PSC’s Stop Workplace Bullying campaign webpage.)
Iris DeLutro, PSC’s vice president of cross-campus units, joined Senator Diane Savino and Assemblymember Steve Engelbrite, the principal sponsors of the Healthy Workplace Act, at a news conference in support of bill this Monday, April 30. (Read the coverage and watch the news conference). You can help by sending our Act Now letter in support of the bill to your state representatives.
Forum: Occupy Global— Friday, May 4
This Friday, May 4, the PSC International Committee will host a forum at the PSC union hall (61 Broadway, 16th floor) examining popular resistance in Egypt, Greece and the United States. Speakers will include American journalist Chris Hedges, Egyptian political activist and researcher Omar El Shafei, and research fellow on Greek politics at Columbia University Neni Panourgia. A buffet will be available from 5:30-6:00 p.m. and the program will run from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Read the speakers’ bios and download a flier.
Environmental Health and Safety Watchdogs Meeting—May 8
The next meeting of the Health and Safety Watchdogs is scheduled for 5:30 PM on Tuesday, May 8 at the PSC office. At the meeting, Dave Newman, a special guest from the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH), will present a workshop called “A Union Approach to Preparing for Campus Construction and Renovation.” Learn more.
Thousands March on May Day
NYC’s labor movement, immigrant and community organizations and Occupy Wall Street marched together on May 1, from Union Square down to Wall Street. Hundreds of PSC members took part in the march, which drew well over 10,000 people overall. Protest actions earlier in the day included “99 Picket Lines” in support of a range of labor and community struggles against corporate power. In Madison Square Park, hundreds of people participated in May Day Free University that offered nearly 100 classes, many of them organized by CUNY faculty or students.
