August 19, 2021
Hello PSC members!
This week, principal officers and other PSCers visited several campuses to welcome returning members and to represent the “Flying Squad” at locations where we had specific concerns. We spoke to scores of members and heard good news and not so good news about occupancy density, ventilation, masking, remote work agreements and testing. We are back in communication with CUNY about things that need immediate attention.
Because of the severity of the Delta variant and because of additional remediation that is necessary in various locations, we have been pressing CUNY to require as few people as possible to return at this time. We have also urged them to allow for a remote start to Fall semester classes.
If you are returning this week or in the near future, please note the measures that are essential for safety in these conditions: masking, distancing, ventilation, cleanliness, signage, and vaccine and testing-related conditions for entry.
Check that ventilation is working or that there is airflow in your workspace. You should observe the spacing of people at six feet, that crowding is avoided, that your space is clean, and that signs are posted to notify people of COVID safety rules. You should observe whether members of the campus community are wearing masks.
Your college’s approved reopening plan appears on CUNY’s website:
https://www.cuny.edu/coronavirus/fall2021-reopeningplans/.
Your administration should comply, at minimum, with its approved plan.
If you believe that the space you are working in is not safe, the union recommends these steps:
1) Document what you see in writing and, where possible, with photographs.
2) Report the problem to your supervisor, and request to be moved to a safer space, or request to work remotely until the college mitigates.
3) Identify the COVID contact for your campus; every campus has an administrator in this role. Report the problem to them. If it is a problem with facilities, also report the problem to the facilities office.
4) Report the problem to the PSC organizer for your campus* and [email protected].
*PSC ORGANIZNG STAFF
Deirdre Brill [email protected] (CUNY Central, Medgar Evers, NTAs, Research Foundation)
Brian Graf [email protected] (Baruch, City Tech, Clip/CUNY Start, Health and Safety)
Thandi Farley [email protected] (Guttman, Graduate Center, Queens)
Jorge Guzman [email protected] (Bronx CC and EOC, CSI, Hostos, Lehman)
Janet Kwon [email protected] (BMCC, Brooklyn, CCNY, CLT Chapter, Manhattan EOC)
Sam Lewis [email protected] (Hunter, Hunter College Campus Schools, KCC)
Sam Rasiotis [email protected] (LaGuardia, RF Field Units, Queens EOC, QCC, York)
Eduardo Zevallos [email protected] (John Jay, HEO Chapter)
