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May 5 Rally for the Budget We Need, the Contract We Deserve!
Can we count on you for May 5? Sign up now with Alex Reusing. On Thursday, May 5 the PSC is holding our most important demonstration of the year—a rally to make our power visible to the city, to the CUNY administration and to each other. We will meet at City Hall at 4:00 PM and march from there to Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) on Chambers Street—physically linking our protest against budget cuts to our vision for the University.
If you believe that Albany should prioritize CUNY over tax breaks for millionaires, that CUNY students deserve a quality education, and that CUNY faculty and staff should have salaries and working conditions that make it possible to do our jobs and live our lives, then you need to be there on May 5. (If your work schedule won’t allow you to meet us at City Hall at 4:00, meet us at BMCC at 5:00. But be there!)
Please let us know you’re coming by responding to Alex Reusing, and help spread the word by inviting your coworkers and “liking” our Facebook page. A general flyer and an adjunct-specific flyer are also available for download at the PSC website.
Sign up for CUNY at the Council—Wednesday, May 11; Lobby with CUNY Students
The Mayor’s executive budget proposal will be released next Thursday, just in time for our big march and rally. His preliminary budget plan, released in January and adjusted in February, already proposes $63.1 million in cuts and unfunded mandatory expense increases for CUNY community colleges. In addition to cutting direct aid to community colleges, the Mayor has also proposed no funding for Vallone Scholarships, Black Male Initiative, Murphy Institute for Worker Education, Center for Puerto Rican Studies, the Dominican Studies Institutes and Creative Arts Team.
PSC is cosponsoring a student-faculty advocacy day called CUNY at the Council, along with the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) and the University Student Senate (USS). The event is scheduled for Wednesday, May 11. It will take place at 250 Broadway.
Contact Amanda Magalhaes (212-354-1252 ext 221) and we’ll register you 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. PSC’s New York City budget platform is available for download from the PSC website.
Research Foundation Workers: Understand your Contract
We have reached a tentative agreement with the Research Foundation/CUNY on a contract covering wages, health insurance, and other terms and conditions of employment for RF workers at New York City Tech, LaGuardia Community College, and the Graduate Center. PSC is offering an opportunity for RF workers to learn about the new contract and ask questions before they vote to ratify the agreement. RF workers can attend any of four briefings/Q&A sessions with Debbie Bell and Naomi Zauderer, lead negotiators for the PSC. (Note that one meeting is scheduled in the evening.)
Daytime meetings:
- LaGuardia Community College on Tuesday, April 26th at 12:00 noon in room B305
- New York City Tech on Wednesday, April 27th from 1:00-3:00pm, Howard Bldg., Room 1111, 25 Chapel St. btw. Jay and Flatbush
- Graduate Center on Thursday, April 28th from 12:00-2:00pm in room 8400
Evening meeting:
- Graduate Center on Tuesday, April 26 from 6:30-8:00pm in room 8400
Please RSVP to Alex Reusing at (212) 354-1252.
May Day Demonstration—Sunday, May 1
May Day is a celebration of international solidarity that commemorates the day in 1886, when laborers, immigrants, artisans and merchants in Chicago waged a general strike to win the eight-hour work day. This year, May Day is a vital opportunity to send a message to those who would turn back the clock on the hard-fought rights of workers in this country: we will not surrender our rights.
Join New York City’s May Day demonstration on Sunday, May 1st at 1:00 PM at Foley Square (between Centre and Lafayette Streets). The rally will feature entertainment and speakers, representing every sector of New York City’s labor movement, including the PSC.
Contact Jim Perlstein, chair of PSC’s Solidarity Committee, to let us know you’re coming. We’ll announce a meet up site for the PSC contingent in the next This Week email. To learn more about the history of May Day, visit the PSC website.
Take our poll on President Obama and the federal budget. It’s on the left side of the home page. There is space for comments. We look forward to hearing from you.
Support PSC’s Student and Community Coalition Partners—April 28th Demonstration
Student and community groups who work in coalition with PSC are organizing a march and rally to protest budget cuts and defend labor rights on Thursday, April 28th. The event will begin at City College with a rally at 4:30PM in front of the NAC building (137th St. and Convent Ave.). The action at City College will be followed by a march that stops first at Juan Puablo Duarte Park (170th and Broadway) and then continues on to PS 115 (177th St. and St. Nicholas). Space at PS 115 that was initially designated for a new public elementary school called Castle Bridge is now set to be handed over to a nationwide charter school chain.
