Union Demands CUNY Use Federal Stimulus Funds to Help CUNY Recover, Reverse Cuts and Layoffs, Protect Health and Safety
New York—More than 200 faculty, staff and students marched through midtown Wednesday, April 28 with the Professional Staff Congress demanding that CUNY “Free The Funds!” and use the stimulus money Congress allocated to CUNY for pandemic relief.
CUNY colleges have been allocated more than $891 million in federal stimulus funds that can be used for institutional purposes related to the pandemic (see college-by-college allocations). The colleges received additional funds for direct aid to students, a provision the union vigorously supports.
“Congress allocated $891 million in institutional aid to the colleges—not to CUNY central. The CUNY administration must release plans for the colleges to put that money to work to protect the quality of a CUNY education, the health and safety of the CUNY community and the livelihood of CUNY workers during the pandemic. CUNY must reverse the cuts and layoffs of the last year,” said Barbara Bowen, president of the Professional Staff Congress. “With the federal funds addressing emergency needs, the City and State must urgently invest in baseline funding for CUNY. Whether New York generates an inclusive economic recovery depends in large part on whether it invests in CUNY.”
"We fought hard in the American Relief Plan to deliver billions of dollars in critical support for higher education in New York, including to CUNY, an institution I love, because it is a direct investment in a better future for millions of students -- and for America. It is vital that those funds are used to keep education affordable for students and to preserve the quality of education offered, including maintaining and restoring a full amount of the professors and instructors needed to deliver that education. When we were in the depths of the covid crisis, all entities had to tighten their belts, but now that we have delivered this much-deserved and generous aid package we should make every effort to restore operations to optimal levels," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
