Save Adjunct Healthcare! Join the Growing Campaign.
The union’s public campaign to press CUNY to live up to its basic responsibility of funding health insurance for all eligible adjuncts is growing, but it has to get even bigger—before 1,700 of our colleagues lose their coverage! The PSC remains willing and eager to work with CUNY to achieve a solution, but we all need to keep the pressure on to make that happen. Here’s how you can help:
- Send the union’s letter to CUNY demanding that adjunct health insurance be permanently funded and sign the public petition;
- Join your full- and part-time colleagues at a rally outside the CUNY Board of Trustees’ meeting on Monday, September 26 at 4:00 PM at Baruch College;
- Contact Brian Graf to join the organizing committee to save adjunct healthcare;
- Tell us what it would mean to lose your health insurance, if you’re an adjunct who receives health insurance from the PSC-CUNY Welfare Fund;
- Tell us why you’re ready to stand up for what’s right, if you’re full-timer who supports continuing health insurance for qualifying adjuncts.
Background information about CUNY’s failure to provide adequate funding or an alternative source for adjunct health insurance is available on the PSC website, along with questions and answers and related communications from the union’s leadership. A response from PSC First Vice President Steve London to Vice Chancellor Silverblatt’s August 17 “CUNY Newswire” message is also on the website.
New Full-time Faculty and Staff Have 30 Days to Choose a Pension—Help Your Newly Hired Colleagues Make an Informed Choice
New full-time faculty and staff members at CUNY have 30 days from the effective date of their appointment to choose a retirement program, and the choice is irrevocable. If no choice is filed within 30 days, the law mandates that the member be assigned to the New York Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS). New CUNY employees may not be on the PSC’s email lists, so please help spread the word. See Choosing a Pension on the PSC website.
Part-time faculty and staff members don’t have a similar deadline, but waiting to sign up for pension benefits may mean leaving retirement money on the table. See Part-Time Pension Benefits.
Labor Day Parade—Saturday, September 10
New York City’s Labor Day parade kicks off at 10 AM, Saturday, September 10 from the intersection of 5th Avenue and 44th Street. PSC members will gather on 45th street between 5th and 6th Avenues at 10:15 AM. The parade is sponsored by the New York City Central Labor Council and the AFL-CIO, both PSC affiliates. Download a flyer.
Volunteer for the Special Elections—Tuesday, September 13
PSC members who want to volunteer with David Weprin’s congressional campaign (CD9) should contact Kate Pfordresher. She can also help coordinate volunteers for candidates in the special elections to the open seats in the New York State Assembly. We will be supporting Phillip Goldfeder (AD23), Mike Simanowitz (AD27) and Dan Quart (AD73). They have each been endorsed by the New York City Central Labor Council.
9/11 Remembrance
New Yorkers will reflect on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 at a candlelight vigil on Thursday, September 8, 7- 9 PM at the corner of Park Place and Church Avenue. The event, entitled “Our Diversity Is Our Strength: Standing Together 10 Years Later,” is organized by New York Neighbors for American Values, a coalition of more than 130 community and labor organizations, including the PSC.
Show Solidarity with Locked Out and Striking Workers
The Solidarity Committee is recommending support of union actions at Flatbush Gardens, a rental complex in Brooklyn, and the Boathouse Restaurant in Central Park. (More information.)
Correction: September 15 is the Date of the Opening Reception for “The Struggle for Free Speech at CCNY”
Last week’s email news letter contained an error. The opening reception for “The Struggle for Free Speech at CCNY, 1931-42,” will, in fact, take place on Thursday, September 15, 6:00-8:00 PM (PSC Calendar listing.)
