Tuesday Night: A Call to Action: Defend the Social Safety Net
As the “Super Committee” meets in Washington, preparing to recommend $1.5 trillion in deficit reductions—including potential cuts in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and pensions—the PSC is developing a labor response. Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, will keynote a forum entitled A Call to Action: Defend the Social Safety Net this Tuesday, October 25 from 6:00-8:30 PM at the SEIU1199 Auditorium (310 West 43rd Street). James Parrott of the Fiscal Policy Institute, CUNY Distinguished Professor Frances Fox Piven, and NYU Labor Historian Kimberly Phillips-Fein will also speak (bios). Come to the forum and join the campaign to preserve the social safety net—for all generations. RSVP.
Campus Actions to Demand Adjunct Health Insurance
To keep funding for adjunct health insurance at the top of CUNY’s list of budget priorities and make sure that funding becomes a reality, we must continue to show broad support throughout the University. PSC chapters are distributing posters and buttons, collecting petition signatures, scheduling meetings with college presidents and even organizing on-campus rallies to show their support. Come to a campus meeting or contact your chapter chair to get involved. This latest wave of activity will crest with the CUNY Board Trustees’ public hearing on November 21. Full-time and part-time members who want to testify about the importance of adjunct health insurance at the hearing should contact PSC Communications Coordinator Fran Clark.
PSC Helps Members and Upstate Communities Ravaged by Floods
Hurricane Irene largely spared New York City, but upstate New Yorkers, including some PSC members, are still reeling from what some have called “our Katrina.” Do you need help? PSC members, organized by the union, have been helping other members to shovel mud out of flooded basements and first floors; let us know if you need help. Contact Ida Cheng at [email protected]. Meanwhile, the PSC has “adopted” an upstate teachers’ local in Binghamton, and union delegates are donating supplies such as crayons and flash-drives to help a school district where the elementary schools was totally ruined by floods. If you’d like to donate, contact Ida Cheng, above.
Adjuncts, Enroll in Your Retirement Plan Now
The PSC and other labor unions will be fighting hard to stop Governor Cuomo’s proposed changes to public employee pensions. His plan would result in increased contributions and potential benefit reductions for new employees who join the pension system after the changes take effect. The changes would hurt future generations at CUNY and make the University far less competitive nationally. Eligible adjuncts are entitled to a pension benefit; by enrolling now in TRS you make use of that entitlement and ensure that you are covered under the current rules. Learn more.
