News & Events

p>PSC members are invited to attend one of two town halls about COVID-19 vaccines scheduled for next Tuesday, February 9.

• Click here to register for the Vaccine 101 Town Hall on February 9, 12:00 – 1:30 PM.

• Click here to register for the Vaccine 101 Town Hall on February 9, 6:00 – 7:30 PM.

In-person higher education workers have access to the vaccine now, thanks to the work of our union and our partners at UUP and NYSUT. Even though the category is described officially as “instructors and faculty,” the PSC takes the position that all instructional staff working in person—that is, professional staff as well as faculty—are included. If you are working on campus for any period this semester, you are encouraged to seek an appointment for vaccination.

The PSC has negotiated two hours of paid leave time for all full-time CUNY employees who have a vaccination appointment, for a total of four hours per person, covering two doses of the vaccine. We are now pressing to expand that provision to include part-time faculty and staff. Read more.

All PSC-represented workers must have access to vaccination if they are required to work in person in the fall. The union is fighting to make that possible, and working to get you the information you need about the vaccine and how to get it.

To that end, we have invited Dr. Jennifer Rosen from the Bureau of Immunization, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to speak to members next Tuesday. Dr. Rosen will discuss the crisis facing the city and the mayor's plans for fighting the COVID-19 virus. She will answer your questions about the effectiveness and the availability of the vaccine. There are two scheduled sessions. These are Zoom webinars and preregistration is required.

When the priority categories for access to COVID vaccines were expanded last month to include “educators,” the PSC took the lead in pushing for inclusion of higher education faculty and staff working on campus in “phase 1B.” Together with the union’s statewide affiliate, NYSUT, and counterpart union at SUNY, we succeeded in getting explicit inclusion of higher ed employees working in person. Even though the category is described officially as “instructors and faculty,” the PSC takes the position that all instructional staff working in person—that is, professional staff as well as faculty—are included. If you are working on campus for any period this semester, you are encouraged to seek an appointment.

The PSC has also won agreement by CUNY management to provide two hours of paid leave time for all full-time CUNY employees who have a vaccination appointment, for a total of four hours per person, covering two doses of the vaccine.

The PSC Delegate Assembly has voted to make Jumaane Williams the PSC's first endorsement of the 2021 NYC elections.

PSC today demanded that the CUNY Administration use the $455 million in new federal relief funds allocated to CUNY colleges to keep class sections open and allow students to enroll. CUNY colleges will receive more than $455 million under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) passed on December 21, up to $337 million of which can be spent on institutional needs arising from the pandemic. These funds are on top of the $251 million CUNY received from the CARES Act earlier in 2020.

The PSC is demanding that the University provide complete transparency about its spending of federal funds; that it use federal funds to maintain classes for students; that it temporarily relax course enrollment minimums, and that it immediately institute a moratorium on Bursar’s holds, temporary holds on re-enrollment caused by debt of as little as $100.