Special DA to discuss and vote on the proposed contract. Please plan to arrive early.
In order to accommodate all delegates who plan to attend, the meeting will be held at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel 811 7th Ave in Manhattan, between 52nd and 53rd Sts. It will be in the New York Ballroom East on the 3rd floor of the hotel. The Sheraton is a unionized hotel. Unfortunately, the large union halls of other locals in the city were fully booked for Thursday night.
Phased retirement at CUNY offers a way for full-time instructional staff members to move to retirement, and many have already made the transition. The program, originally agreed to between the PSC and CUNY as a pilot program, is now permanent. The deadline to apply is November 15, 2019.
In honor of National Bullying Prevention Month, PSC's HEO and CLT chapters will host a forum at their cross-campus units meeting to discuss workplace bullying, learn what can be done about it and how we can take action to STOP it.
Monday, October 7, 2019
6:30 PM – 9:00 PM
PSC Central Office, 61 Broadway, 16th Floor
Light refreshments served at 6:00 PM / Meeting begins at 6:30 PM
RSVP Required
Irwin H. Polishook, President of the Professional Staff Congress/CUNY, Local 2334, AFT, AFL-CIO for 24 years from 1976 to 2000, died on September 13, 2019 at age 84. Polishook was a scholar of colonial America and taught History at Hunter and Lehman Colleges, CUNY. He was a founding leader of the PSC when it was formed through a merger of the Legislative Conference and the United Federation of College Teachers in 1972, and became president in 1976. He helped negotiate the union’s first contracts, led the PSC through the fiscal crisis of the 1970s and later staunchly resisted structural upheavals at CUNY. He was a leading voice for unions in higher education within the PSC's affiliate, the American Federation of Teachers, and led the AFT's Higher Education Program and Policy Council. Polishook was also a member of the Executive Committee of New York State United Teachers, the Steering Committee of the NYC Municipal Labor Committee and held offices in the American Association of University Professors.
Polishook is survived by his wife Sheila, also a retiree member of PSC, his son Lewis, daughter-in-law Susan Sapiro, and two granddaughters. Donations in his memory may be made to the Belle Zeller Scholarship Trust Fund, which provides an annual graduate scholarship in his name. (Send c/o PSC 61 Broadway NY, NY 10006)
The PSC’s national affiliate, the American Federation of Teachers, is urging members to take part in the union’s presidential endorsement survey. (The AFT’s 2020 endorsement process is covered the May issue of Clarion.) Please take a moment to tell the AFT which issues are important to you. The Democratic candidates want our votes and the endorsement of our union. Let’s make sure that investment in high-quality, affordable public postsecondary education (one of the survey choices) is high on their list of priorities. For the survey, use PSC/CUNY and AFT #2334 for the local name and local number fields.
Joan Wallach Scott and Henry Reichman, both long-time members of the AAUP Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure, will talk about academic freedom, its difference from the right of free speech, as well as about the history and current attacks on it.
The PSC proudly endorses the global school walkout for climate change on Friday, September 20.We salute the students throughout the world who are leading the movement on this most urgent of issues. “Our house is on fire; let’s act like it.” PSC members are urged to support the movement in whatever ways you can without interfering with fulfillment of your normal work responsibilities: incorporate material about climate change into your teaching where appropriate, offer students logistical support, or join the walkout during your lunch hour.
In New York, participants will gather at Foley Square and then march to Battery Park. The event will conclude with a rally at Battery Park featuring speakers and performers, including Fridays for Future movement starter Greta Thunberg and NY-based youth leaders.
The PSC’s Environmental Justice Working Group and other PSC members will meet to join the march at 11:45 at the southwest corner of Worth and Lafayette Streets. We will be carrying red PSC signs. (Eventually we will join the labor contingent on the northeast corner of Lafayette and Worth. At 1:15 PM we march to Battery Park. Go to the union area in the northeast section of Battery Park in the back of the lawn area. The rally and program at Battery Park is from 3:30 to 5:30.)
In October 2018 PSC's national affiliate, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), filed a class-action lawsuit against Navient, a student loan servicer, for misleading borrowers in public-service professions to stop them from enrolling in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. In 2019 the AFT has broadened its attack on student debt. Reducing student loan debt is now a priority campaign for the union. Here's an AFT Voices post that explains the multiple ways the AFT is taking on the student debt crisis: Five things we’re doing to address the student debt crisis.
The annual salary increase for Research Foundation field unit members went into effect on July 1. The PSC represents Research Foundation employees at City Tech, the Graduate Center and LaGuardia. On July 1 these members received a minimum salary increase of 2 percent or $575/year ($0.32/hour) whichever is greater. Members will see the increase in their July 17th paycheck covering the period from July 1 to July 5.
Iris DeLutro (PSC Vice President for Cross-Campus Units and HEO Chapter Delegate) has scheduled an open meeting with the president for HEOs and CLTs on campus for Tuesday August 6th, 12:30-1:30 PM, before the fall semester starts and life at QC gets crazy (again).
61 Broadway, 15th Floor, NYC 10006 | 212-354-1252 | PSC Office | AFT Local #2334
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