Take Our Message about the Contract Directly to Students
Wear a T-Shirt at Work
Hundreds of PSC members now have t-shirts that say, “Five Years without a Union Contract Hurts CUNY Students’’—and on the back: “Ask Me Why.” They’re wearing them in class and at work, and talking with CUNY students, our allies in the fight for a better CUNY. We’ve deployed so many shirts we’re ordering more. To get yours, fill out this online pledge form. Shirts reserved via the online pledge form are being distributed to chapter chairs. If you’ve already signed up for a shirt and haven’t collected it yet, contact your chapter chairperson (click here for a list of chairs) and make arrangements to pick yours up. This flier and this page of the PSC website have a few suggestions on what to say to students and actions that students can take to show their support.
Review Your Personnel File Week—Apr. 20-24
Full- and part-time faculty, HEOs, and CLTs are making arrangements this week to review and initial their personal personnel files. The union recommends you review your file at least once a year to verify its accuracy. The contract (Article 19) gives you the right to do so. Your personal file is the representation of your work and professional history at CUNY. Decisions about reappointment, promotion, certification and tenure are made, in part, based on its contents. Make sure yours is accurate and up to date. You don’t have to do it this week, but be sure to do it! Click here for campus-specific information.
Help Win a Fair Contract: Sign up for NYC-Based Lobby Visits
There is still time in this legislative session for the State Legislature to fund a PSC-CUNY contract with retroactive pay. And there is still time for CUNY allies on the City Council to add their political support to our contract fight. But lawmakers at the city and state level need to know that the contract is a priority for their constituents, and they need to understand how five years without a PSC-CUNY contract hurts the CUNY students who live in their districts. You can help them understand by joining your PSC colleagues at visits to NYC district offices being scheduled with City and State lawmakers throughout the months of May and June. To get involved, email your name and address to Amanda Magalhaes ([email protected]), and tell her what times you’re available on Fridays in May and June. (We’re attempting to schedule most visits on Fridays, but some may be scheduled for other days of the week.)
Building a Peaceful World: Ending U.S. Militarism—Apr. 23
PSC’s Committee on the Militarization of CUNY will host a frank discussion of violence inherent in U.S. militarism this Thurs., Apr. 23 from 6:30-8:30 PM at City College’s Aranow Theater (First Floor, North Academic Center, 138th St. & Convent Ave.) The discussion, which will feature Nick Turse, journalist, historian and author of Kill Anything that Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam, and Rory Fanning, veteran, 2nd Army Ranger Battalion, and author of Worth Fighting For: An Army Ranger’s Journey Out of the Military and Across America. Click here for a flier and here to RSVP on Facebook.
AAUP Centennial Conference at Columbia—Apr 24-25
Next week on April 24-25 the New York State American Association of University Professors conference will honor AAUP’s centennial at Columbia University. (Click here for a flier.) It will be a chance to meet AAUP colleagues from across the state, to learn from an outstanding roster of speakers and to contribute to discussions on academic freedom and shared governance. A particular emphasis at this event will be on the challenges facing the growing contingent workforce and other long-term structural issues in the academy. The event is FREE and travel expenses require only your Metrocard! Go to go the NYS AAUP website for the list of speakers and the agenda and to register for the conference. Once you register, please email James Davis at [email protected] so we can keep track of PSC attendance at the conference.
Join the May Day Rally to End Income Inequality
We need you and your energy at the May Day march and rally, next Fri., May 1. May Day is the international workers’ holiday, a day of solidarity to celebrate the labor movement’s past progress and mobilize for the struggles of today, including our fight for a fair contract at CUNY. The annual march and rally in NYC will bring together union members and immigration activists in support of our shared demand for an end to income equality. The march will take the action to the doors of the city’s richest 1%, starting at the home of Walmart owner Alice Walton (60th St. between Park and Lexington Ave.) and traveling down Billionaire’s Row on Central Park South to join a rally at 58th Street Between 8th and 9th Ave. PSC members will meet at the corner of 60th St. and 3rd Ave., starting at 5:00 PM. (Look for our red and white signs.) Click here for a flier.
