Do the Right Thing, CUNY!
That’s the message we’ll deliver at 4:00 PM on Monday, September 26 when we rally at the CUNY Board of Trustees meeting at Baruch College. Please join us as we demand that CUNY provide a permanent structural solution to the crisis in adjunct health insurance before 1,700 of our colleagues lose their coverage. This is a campaign about more than just health care, it’s a campaign about the kind of employer and the kind of university CUNY is going to be—for full-time and part-time alike.
We need your signature on both the letter and petition before the 26th. Do it today. Here’s what else you can do:
- Contact Brian Graf to join the organizing committee to save adjunct healthcare;
- Tell us your story if you’re an adjunct who receives health insurance from the PSC-CUNY Welfare Fund;
- Share a statement of solidarity, if you’re a full-timer who thinks CUNY should fully fund health insurance for adjuncts.
- Use #AdjunctHI to follow and discuss the issue on Twitter
See this background information on CUNY’s failure to provide adequate funding or an alternative source for adjunct health insurance.
Special Election—Tuesday, September 13
PSC members who live in parts of Queens and Brooklyn, or in parts of the Upper East Side, should remember to vote in tomorrow’s Special Election. PSC supports David Weprin for Congress in New York’s 9th Congressional District. Weprin was a strong supporter of CUNY when he was on the New York City Council and he will advance a jobs agenda in Washington. NYSUT (including the PSC and UFT) has also endorsed these candidates, and we urge you to vote for them: Phillip Goldfeder (AD23—Queens), Mike Simanowitz (AD27—Queens) and Dan Quart (AD73—Manhattan). They have each also been endorsed by the NYS AFL-CIO and New York City Central Labor Council.
CUNY Trustees Delay Vote on Bylaws, Again
In May, CUNY proposed sweeping changes to the university’s bylaws that had the potential to strip PSC members of important rights and undermine shared governance (more info). After the PSC urged them to delay voting and allow public debate on the proposed bylaws revisions, the Board of Trustees delayed the vote until September 26. The PSC continued to press for a November date.
“We learned today that the vote has in fact been postponed until November,” said PSC President Barbara Bowen. “The delay should allow members of the CUNY community time to give the bylaws revisions the discussion they deserve.”
Defending Public Higher Education Conference—Save the Date and Spread the Word
The PSC and other groups are sponsoring a free, day-long conference at the CUNY Graduate Center on October 7th. Join us for a day of collective thinking about the challenges facing public higher education, and help define strategies that will reverse the disturbing trend of disinvestment in higher education. Click for Information and a link to a downloadable flier.
Register Now for Basic Contract and Grievance Counselor Trainings
On Tuesdays in October and November, PSC will be offering two sets of workshops: Basic Contract Orientation and the Grievance Counselor Training. All members who are interested in learning more about their contractual rights are welcome. However, to become eligible to be a Chapter Grievance Counselor, members are required to attend both workshops. Each training session is limited to 35 people, so register early by contacting Coordinator of Contract Administration Albert Munoz at 212-354-1252 or [email protected]. The registration deadline is October 4.
New Homepage Poll
How would you grade the President’s September 8th jobs speech? And in the comments, what would it take for you to give him an “A”? Let us know.
Pictures of the Labor Day Parade—and our Solidarity March to the Boathouse
PSC members marched in Saturday’s Labor Day parade that honored the working people. Later, a group of PSC members and other unionists headed over to the Boathouse Restaurant in Central Park to show their support for workers who were fired for trying to form a union. See the photos on our Facebook page.
