News & Events
High temperatures are unhealthy and potentially dangerous. Those with cardiovascular disease are at higher risk of heat exhaustion or heat stroke, as are those who are older, overweight, or have chronic health conditions. As you know, many CUNY classrooms have woefully inadequate cooling and ventilation. Also, many parts of the city, including CUNY colleges, will be operating with reduced electrical power for at least part of today, which means less cooling The non-mandatory (but commonly accepted) standards are that summer indoor temperatures not exceed the range of 75 - 80.5 F.
Recommendations for overly hot classrooms & offices (> 86 F (30 C))
Contact Buildings & Grounds/Facilities at your campus to let them know you have a HEAT EMERGENCY in your classroom or office. Many campuses have an recommended number for URGENT situations, USE IT! If that is not possible, call the listed number and speak with a person. Also, contact your department about the problem.
March for Climate, Jobs, and Justice
Thursday, September 6, @ 5:30 in Battery Park
PSC members will meet in front of the snack bar near the water.
Join the PSC and People’s Climate March-NY’s coalition of labor, environmental, and community groups as we gather and push elected officials to act more boldly to implement a just transition to 100% renewable energy, halt all fossil fuel infrastructure and make polluters pay. The PSC will be with the labor contingent, so look for our red "In Solidarity" signs. Click here to register for the march at the PCM-NY website and here to invite friends to the Facebook event.
Sept 6 @ Battery Park kicks off the events across the country in advance of the Global Climate Summit being held in San Francisco.
Take the R or #1 train to South Ferry or the #4-5 train to Bowling Green.
NYC is a Union Town!
Join the NYC Labor Movement on Saturday, September 8 at 10AM to show the strength & solidarity of NYC Labor!
The staging area for PSC members and other education unions will be on West 44th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues.
We are scheduled to begin marching at 10:15 AM.
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/667243883642339
Click here for a flyer.
The American Federation of Teachers, PSC’s national affiliate, has adopted a resolution in support of the PSC’s campaign for $7,000 per course minimum pay for CUNY adjuncts. It resolves “that the AFT supports PSC’s campaign for $7K and all other AFT locals’ campaigns for fair adjunct pay, and that the AFT leadership will call on AFT members to support the PSC in actions, demonstrations and advocacy for $7K, because a victory on $7K at CUNY would be a victory for every teacher, professor, education worker and student in the country.” Click here to read the resolution, which was adopted July 16 at the union’s 2018 national convention in Pittsburgh, PA.
By now, you've probably seen or heard about emails from Besty DeVos and her billionaire friends trying to convince people like us to leave our union. The latest wave comes from Bob Bellafiore and the out-of-state billionaires backing his front group, New Choice NY.
Don't be fooled by the false innocence of Bellafiore's email. His message is just what we expected in the weeks following the Supreme Court's Janus decision. It probably won't be the last such message you receive. Their aim is to change the law and the balance of power in the U.S. so that working people own less and less wealth, and the public sector is destroyed-or turned into a source of private profit. They are part of the same network of groups that funded the Janus case.
What they don't want you to know is that the PSC has become stronger than ever, in defiance of their challenge. As of today, we have the highest percentage of membership in our history, 96% of full-time faculty and staff, and among the highest percentages of adjunct membership in the country. More than 500 people contacted the PSC in the week after the Janus decision to join or reaffirm their membership. If you have not yet reaffirmed your PSC membership by filling out the new, stronger membership card, click here now to do so.
Bob Bellafiore and those who pay him think you will be fooled into believing that you would be better off if you kept the modest amount you pay in union dues (about 1% of salary) than if you continued to pool that amount for the significant gains we achieve together. Download Union Membership Matters, a brochure about the gains we've made together as a union.
Dental and hearing benefits provided to CUNY employees by the PSC-CUNY Welfare Fund have been significantly improved. Beginning on July 1, 2018, the Fund’s reimbursement schedule for many common but expensive dental procedures—when provided by participating, in-network Guardian dentists—have been enhanced. Beginning on July 1, 2018, the Fund has also doubled the per-ear, in-network subsidy for hearing aids from $750 to $1,500, for a total subsidy of $3,000 once every 36 months. Visit the PSC-CUNY Welfare Fund website to read more about the benefit enhancements.
