PSC to CUNY Board Chair: We Need a Fair Contract
More than 600 CUNY faculty and staff marched through the Financial District last Thursday, September 27, to demand public investment in CUNY and a fair contract. Led by a brass band, PSC members picketed outside the NY Stock Exchange before chanting their way to the investment banking firm of William C. Thompson, chairperson of the CUNY Board of Trustees. The PSC is pressuring Bill Thompson to demand the public funding needed to ensure raises for all CUNY faculty and staff, a fully funded contract, $7K per course for adjuncts, and a better life for CUNY workers and CUNY students. Click here to read more and here for Facebook Live video of the demonstration outside Thompson’s office.
PSC Speaks Out on Blog Post Advocating Sexual Assault and Calls for Firing of Brooklyn College Professor
The Professional Staff Congress joins students, faculty and staff colleagues at Brooklyn College and throughout CUNY in denouncing Professor Mitchell Langbert’s disgusting statement that committing sexual assault in high school is a prerequisite for being “a member of the male sex.” Regardless of Professor Langbert’s subsequent claim that his remarks were intended as satire, his advocacy of sexual violence, together with the misogynistic and homophobic views expressed in his blog post on Judge Kavanaugh, are the antithesis of what colleges—and unions—represent. Nevertheless, the PSC vigorously opposes calls for immediate dismissal of Professor Langbert, repugnant as his comments are. Professor Langbert is entitled to the due process protections the PSC has won for every CUNY employee represented by the union. The right to due process offers protection of dissenting and minority positions, no matter how repugnant those positions may be; due process must be upheld in every case if it is to have meaning. The PSC will continue to support the thousands of CUNY faculty, staff and students who work every day to make the university a safe and vibrant institution.
Proposed PSC Budget Presentation—Oct. 11
PSC Treasurer Sharon Persinger will be hold an open session to present and respond to questions about the proposed union budget for the coming year on Thursday, October 11 before the Delegate Assembly from 5-6 PM in the PSC Union Hall (61 Broadway, 16th floor). Members of the PSC are invited to attend this question-and-answer session prior to the Delegate Assembly’s vote on the budget.
Sign and Share this CUNY Rising Petition to Fund CUNY ASAP
The PSC and dozens of other organizations are partnering through the CUNY Rising Alliance to build public and political support for increased investment in CUNY to fund truly free and quality public higher education. This petition calls on Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio to make CUNY’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs and Accelerate Complete Engage initiatives available to all CUNY students, so all students can benefit from smaller classes, high-contact advisement, as well as free tuition, books and MetroCards. Please add your name and help spread the word about the petition. CUNY was once free; it can be free again — and well funded.
PSC Is Going All In On These Local Senate and Congressional Races
Sign Up to Phone Bank or Canvass
In the General Election on Tues., Nov. 6, New Yorkers will cast their ballot for Governor, Attorney General, members of the Assembly and State Senate, and Congressional Representatives. The PSC and our statewide affiliate NYSUT are supporting candidates up and down the ballot who will support increased investment in CUNY and oppose the harmful policies of the Trump Administration. PSC members are going all in on local Senate and Congressional races, especially for Andrew Gounardes (Brooklyn, SD 22) and John Liu (Queens, SD 11), whose elections could change the balance of power in the (now IDC-free) NYS Senate, and Max Rose (Staten Island/Brooklyn, CD11), who is running to help take back the U.S. House of Representatives from the Party of Trump. Click here to volunteer for weeknight phone banking and door-to-door labor walks on Oct. 20 and 27.
AAUP Conference at Dutchess Community College—Nov. 2 – 3
The NYS Conference of the American Association of University Professors will be held at Dutchess Community College (Poughkeepsie) Nov. 2 – 3. It will be a chance to meet AAUP colleagues from across the state, to learn from an outstanding roster of speakers and to contribute to discussions on academic freedom and shared governance. Sessions on Defending Academic Freedom and Restoring Professional Dignity for Adjunct Faculty AAUP and organizing in a post-Janus climate are on the agenda, along with other topics. Reservations and $50 are required for the Friday dinner. The registration fee for the Saturday program, including lunch, is $10. Click here for travel information and to register. Once you register, please email Anne Friedman at [email protected] so we can keep track of PSC attendance at the conference.
