Teach CUNY: Bring the Contract Campaign to the Classroom
Teach CUNY events in support of the contract campaign and the fundamental fight for public investment in CUNY begin this week. The Brooklyn College chapter, together with the Wolfe Institute, the American Studies program and student allies, will kicks things off on Thurs., Oct. 15 with a day of programming, Austerity and Its Discontents: The Fight to Reclaim Public Higher Education. The BMCC chapter’s faculty-student teach-in will be Wed., Oct. 21 at 2 PM. The BMCC event is called CUNY Funding, Student Tuition and the PSC Contract. Chapters at LaGuardia Community College and John Jay College have teach-ins scheduled for Tues., Oct. 27, and other chapters are launching their Teach CUNY efforts at chapter meetings scheduled in the coming weeks. Contact your chapter chair and visit the PSC calendar to learn about events being planned for your campus.
Labor Goes to the Movies Presents Lives of Others—Oct. 16, 6 PM
The union’s film series explores the theme of “surveillance” on Fri., Oct. 16 in the PSC Union Hall (61 Broadway, 16th floor) with a screening of Lives of Others (von Donnersmarck, Germany, 2006). Set in the East German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1984, it reprises the suspicion, terror and despair engendered by 200,000 secret police (the Stasi) in service to the state’s hunt for traitors. It’s a complex drama about how a successful playwright, his actress girlfriend and their Stasi investigator live out their life-and-death moral crises. Carol Pittman, of the New York State Nurses Association, will lead the discussion. She lived in the former GDR for six years while attending Karl-Marx-University (now Leipzig University), visits Germany frequently, and has been in regular touch with friends, pre- and post “die Wende” – the change. Refreshments provided. $2 suggested donation. Doors open at 6 PM. More information.
PSC’s International Committee Presents Miners Shot Down—Oct. 16, 6 PM
In August 2012, mineworkers at the Lonmin Platinum Mine, Marikana, South Africa, began a wildcat strike for a living wage. Six days later the police used live ammunition to suppress the strike, killing 34 and injuring many more. The documentary Miners Shot Down follows the strike, showing the courageous fight waged by a group of low paid workers against the combined forces of the mining company, the government and their allies in the National Union of Mineworkers. This powerful story of South Africa’s first post-apartheid massacre will be screened Fri., Oct. 16 at 6:00 PM at the United Auto Workers office, 256 West 38th St., 12th floor. Following the film, the director, Rehad Desai, will talk about the current struggle of workers in South Africa and the role of international solidarity. RSVP.
CUNY Fall Benefits Transfer & Open Enrollment Period: Oct. 1-31
All full-time and part-time faculty and staff eligible for the NYC Health Benefits Program are eligible to transfer to a different health insurance provider and/or enroll during the month of October. To learn more about the health care plans available to you, click here. For retirees, the NYC Office of Labor Relations has a special transfer period running November 1-30. Retirees who need assistance should contact the retirees help line at (212) 513-0470.
Treasurer’s Report—Oct. 15
The annual open meeting on the PSC Treasurer’s Report will be held on Thursday, October 15 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 with PSC Treasurer Sharon Persinger regarding the 2015-2016 PSC budget.
