Late State Budget Rally
Gov Kathy Hochul’s NYC Office
633 3rd Ave., Manhattan
Thursday, April 13, 1 PM
RSVP HERE
The State budget is late, and even though we’d rather be resting and having fun during spring break we must keep the pressure on for a New Deal for CUNY and big increases in recurring state funding. Come dressed on theme or in #Red4HigherEd–and remember sunscreen.
Keep the Pressure on Albany
Political leaders are holding up the budget as they struggle through a tough negotiation about bail reform and housing policy. Once they settle those issues, agreements on other items, including CUNY funding, are expected to come quickly. The delay in Albany gives us time to push even harder for the funding CUNY needs. PSC members have sent thousands of letters, made more than 500 calls and have been posting regularly on social media. Don’t let a day go by without doing something to help!
RETWEET THIS | SEND LETTER | MAKE A CALL
Rutgers University on Strike!
Unions representing 9,000 Rutgers University faculty are on strike calling for salary increases, equal pay for equal work, job security and health insurance for part-time lecturers, and guaranteed funding for graduate workers, among other demands. On Tuesday at the Rutgers Newark rally and picket, PSC Secretary Penny Lewis called the demands “an incredibly ambitious, visionary and necessary agenda that Rutgers must follow.”
PSC members can visit their Strike Info Center to find out where and when to join a picket line. Click here to donate to the Rutgers Strike & Solidarity Fund.
PSC Members on the Picket Line at the CUNY Research Foundation
Private-sector workers represented by the PSC at the CUNY Research Foundation Central Office have been in negotiations for six months, but RF management is still offering a low-ball average annual raise of 3.2%. Help the RFCO workers turn up the heat on Research Foundation President Hector Cordero-Guzman and win their demands for raises of 4-5% per year, real protection of remote work arrangements, reasonable workloads, and better benefits. Join their quick informational picket next Wednesday, April 19th from 12:00 – 12:30 outside the RF Office at 230 West 41st St. between 7th and 8th Aves. The chapter will skip the management-provided lunch during their all-staff meeting to be on the picket line. A good contract is more important than free lunch!
Twitter users can click here to tweet a message supporting the workers at President Cordero-Guzman.
Save the Date: Monday, May 8, 4:30 PM
Testify Before the CUNY Trustees
at LaGuardia Community College
Testify before the CUNY Trustees at their Queens borough public hearing Monday, May 8 at 4:30PM in the Mainstage Theater at LaGuardia Community College (31-10 Thomson Ave. Long Island City). Tell them in three minutes or less why the Board and management must eliminate the Vacancy Review Board, stop the “savings target” cuts to departments and services, and begin bargaining with the PSC for a contract for #APeoplesCUNY with real raises. Click here to let us know that you can save the day and time. And tell us if you would prefer to testify in person or online.
- PSC leaders will deliver the Petition to Begin Bargaining during the May 8 hearing. Add your name now if you haven’t already!
- Send this letter to the Chancellor and the Board Chair demanding an end to the Vacancy Review Board and management’s “savings target” cuts.
I WILL TESTIFY
NYC BUDGET
Strong Support from the City Council
The NYC Council’s Fiscal Year 2024 Preliminary Budget Response calls on the mayor to restore and baseline $36.9 million in funding for programmatic initiatives and $10.5 million in funding for Accelerate, Complete, and Engage (ACE), a program shown to increase graduation rates. It also calls for a new $35.5 million investment to hire 264 new academic advisors and $5.8 million to restore and expand CUNY Reconnect, a program that supported the re-enrollment of more than 16,000 former students in CUNY colleges.
In his statement about the budget response, PSC President James Davis said, “the Council wants exactly what CUNY needs.” Read the full statement.
Third Round of Cuts from the Mayor
Mayor Adams announced another round of 3-4% cuts to City agencies last week. Schools, libraries, cultural institutions, food assistance, legal services, parks, sanitation, the NYPD, CUNY, and more would be cut. The mayor blames the cuts on “worsening economic conditions,” costs of supporting the recent influx of asylum seekers into the City, the cost of upcoming labor agreements, and uncertainty about the state budget. Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Finance Chair Justin Brannan responded quickly, calling the cuts “a demonstration in excess that risks taking the City down a harmful, destabilizing path.”
Save the Date: Thurs, May 11
City Budget Rally, 12:30 PM
Outside City Hall Park, Broadway Side
PSC members, students and CUNY allies will rally outside City Hall before the stated meeting of the City Council on Thursday, May 11. By that date, the state budget should be resolved, the Mayor’s Executive Budget will be public, and negotiations between the council and the mayor will be ongoing. It will be just the right time to demonstrate broad, vigorous support for full city funding of CUNY.
RSVP MAY 11
Keep Sending Letters to the City Council
The City Council has been very supportive of CUNY and other public institutions and services. But we need to make sure they keep hearing from their constituents! If you care about CUNY funding, send this letter from The People’s Plan coalition demanding a People’s Budget with #CareNotCuts. The letter urges the City Council to protect funding for K-12 education, CUNY, libraries and adult literacy, and social services. It calls for less spending on policing and incarceration and more funding to support healthy, safe communities.
SEND LETTER
Published: April 12, 2023 | Last Modified: April 13, 2023
