#CUNYSafeReturn
PSC members must be able to ask students to wear masks
PSC President James Davis sent the following letter to Chancellor Matos Rodriguez on August 25, 2022:
Dear Chancellor Matos,
I wrote to you on August 1 in anticipation of the start of an excellent Fall semester. I urged you, on behalf of our members, to permit them to ask students to wear a mask in their in-person classes, labs, or work areas. I explained the union’s position: “The stakes of contracting COVID are still high for many CUNY employees and/or their family members. Even a University that does not require indoor mask-wearing can and should normalize compliance with such requests from vulnerable members of the campus community.” Provost Hensel’s guidance to the university community (CUNY Return to Campus FAQs), issued August 23, expressly prohibits instructors from asking students to wear masks. So I am writing again to insist that you reconsider this bad policy. Read the full letter.
We’re suing to fix CUNY’s vaccine mandate
The PSC filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court of New York State in Manhattan, challenging the legality of the COVID-19 vaccination policy as CUNY has applied it.
Instead of mandating vaccines universally for all employees except those who qualify for medical or religious exemptions, CUNY management chose to limit the scope of the policy. Only those employees represented by the PSC and those covered by the Executive Compensation Plan are subject to the mandate, while more than 10,000 other CUNY employees are not. This inconsistent approach to implementation is deeply problematic. Read more.
Actions
- Let PSC know if you have been denied an accommodation
- Join the Health and Safety Watchdogs or attend your union chapter’s next meeting to help keep CUNY safe
Resources
- Agreement on Medical and Religious Exemptions to the Vaccine Mandate
- FAQs about Agreement on Medical and Religious Exemptions to the Vaccine Mandate
- Enforcing Your Right to an ADA Accommodation
- Resolution on CUNY Libraries Reopening of Physical Space
- Remote Work Agreement
Health and Safety Campus Coordinators
Susan Fountain ([email protected])
- GC (SLU, SPS, McCauley, School of Journalism)
- CUNY Central Office
- Hostos
- Bronx EOC
- BCC
- Guttman
- Kingsborough
- Manhattan EOC
Brian Graf ([email protected])
- Brooklyn EOC
- City Tech
- HCCS
- Medgar Evers
- RF
- General Assistance
Jean Grassman ([email protected])
- GC (GC, SPH, ASRC)
- CSI
- Hunter
- Queens
- Baruch
- Queensborough
- Queens EOC
Carlos Parker ([email protected])
- BMCC
- City College
- LaGuardia
- Lehman
- John Jay
- York
Coordinators Emeriti
- Jacqueline Elliot
- Joan Greenbaum
Timeline
- 8/25/22: PSC members must be able to ask students to wear masks
- 6/24/22: We’re suing to fix CUNY’s vaccine mandate
- 5/02/22: FAQs about PSC–CUNY Agreement on Medical and Religious Exemptions to the Vaccine Mandate
- 3/10/22: Mask Mandate and Vaccine Negotiations
- 2/09/22: Vaccine Mandate for Faculty and Staff
- 1/28/22: Rallies to Protect Health, Safety & Jobs At Bronx Community College & Medgar Evers College
- 1/24/22: Save Jobs, Save Lives, Save CUNY…From Itself!
- 1/13/22: Path to a Safer Spring Semester
- 1/05/22: 3,200 Faculty and Staff Sign Petition Calling for a Safe Return
- 1/02/22: New Vaccination Policy from Governor Hochul
- 12/29/21: Demand remote work and vaccine mandate from CUNY
- 12/20/21: PSC notice to Chancellor about the COVID surge
- 10/04/21: Vaccine Mandates at CUNY
- 09/03/21: Guidance for Faculty Teaching In-Person Classes
- 08/31/21: CUNY Faculty, Staff Protest at Medgar Evers College Against the Administration’s Inadequate Reopening Plan
- 08/26/21: CUNY Faculty and Staff Protest at Hunter College Against the Administration’s Reopening Plan
- 08/24/21: Day Before CUNY’s Fall Reopening, CUNY Faculty & Staff Union and Elected Officials Raise Safety Concerns
- 08/19/21: Health and Safety Update — First week back for some
- 08/13/21: CUNY Cannot Combat the Pandemic by Patchwork
- 08/12/21: Updates on health & safety and reopening
- 08/02/21: Safe reopening update & Fall schedule
- 07/26/21: Two More Weeks to Ensure a Safe Return
- 07/12/21: Updates on Safe Reopening and Delayed 2% Raise
- 06/29/21: Update on Remote Work Agreement
- 06/22/21: Summer Safe Reopening Campaign Plan
- 06/07/21: Important Updates on Reopening
- 06/07/21: Changes to teaching modality
- 06/03/21: Remote Work Agreement issues
- 05/13/21: Resolution on CUNY Libraries Reopening of Physical Space
- 03/20 – 04/21: Save Lives, Save Jobs, Save CUNY 2020