An Action a Day to Bring Home $500M
Funding toward the New Deal for CUNY is central to the final budget discussion in Albany. An increase of as much as $500 million is on the table for CUNY, and we have seven days left to bring it home. Legislators will be conferencing often, reconciling their priorities with the ongoing negotiations between Governor Hochul, Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Heastie.
PSC leaders and staff are organizing our members, lobbying elected officials, elevating our issues in the press (Curbed, Amsterdam News, The New Yorker), and working closely with the #NewDeal4CUNY cosponsors. But we need an all-out grassroots push from PSC members and CUNY Rising allies to fortify our champions, persuade the fence sitters and claim every dollar of the proposed increases for CUNY. This is where you come in!
This Saturday and Sunday:
Crowdsourcing Social Media Content
- Submit a short comment here about why CUNY needs an increase of $500 million in this year’s budget. We’ll combine all of your responses to generate a word cloud to share with legislators and on social media next week.
- Take a selfie with a handwritten sign that begins “I’m fighting for a #NewDeal4CUNY because…” and fill in your reason. Post it on your social networks with the hashtag #NewDeal4CUNY or send it to [email protected] and we’ll post it for you.
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to remind you about these actions:
- Monday: Send the updated CUNY Rising Alliance e-letter to the Governor and your legislators.
- Tuesday: Call both of your NYS legislators, or the legislators who represent your college, if you live out of state. We’ll email you their office phone numbers and a sample message.
- Wednesday: Rally for +$500 Million & A #NewDeal4CUNY at Lehman College, 12:30-1:30PM. Click here to RSVP.
- Thursday: #NewDeal4CUNY Social Media Blitz Day. We’ll supply sample messages and new graphics to share.
Faculty, Staff, Students, Unions Rally at Capitol, Calling on Governor, Majority Leader, and Speaker to Increase CUNY & SUNY Funding by $1 Billion
As state budget negotiations progressed Wednesday, dozens of students, faculty, staff, union leaders and legislative allies rallied outside the state Capitol to call for an additional $1 billion–$500 million each–for CUNY and SUNY. During the rally, PSC members and CUNY students performed a “cantestoria,” a street theater with banners and 2-D puppets, enacting New York’s disinvestment in CUNY and the hope for the better university that the New Deal for CUNY can make possible. PSC members who couldn’t travel to Albany Wednesday, supported the #NewDeal4CUNY campaign by wearing #Red4HigherEd. Read more about the action here and click here for a YouTube playlist with the rally speakers.
Statement on Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
The Executive Council of the Professional Staff Congress joins fellow union leaders and locals in the U.S. and abroad to express our condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and our deep concern for the Ukrainian civilians being killed, wounded, displaced, and terrorized in this unnecessary war. Our concern extends to the dissenters in Russia who are opposing Vladimir Putin’s aggression at great risk to themselves and their families. Many of our members and students have families directly connected to the conflict, and we express our solidarity and pledge to do what we can to support them through this period. Our union has a long history of opposing war, supporting international solidarity among working people, and insisting that all people deserve to live in a just, stable, and peaceful world. As educators, we value communication, dialogue, and mutual understanding as modes for resolving conflict, and we hold out hope that diplomacy and an avoidance of escalation can help bring an end to this war.
We encourage PSC members to consider donating to the AFT Disaster Relief Fund (https://www.aft.org/disaster-relief-fund), which is working with teachers unions in countries that border Ukraine to provide assistance and services to refugees.
