The PSC is ready to bargain with CUNY about a possible vaccine mandate to protect public health and members’ rights.
It is clear that vaccination is the surest way to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and to protect the lives and health of PSC members and CUNY students. We also know that the COVID vaccines have been proven to reduce the severity of breakthrough infections when they occur.
The PSC wants everyone on campus to be vaccinated, but we don’t want that requirement to be imposed on union members without negotiating over the terms. The PSC is favorably disposed to a possible vaccine mandate as an important step toward defeating the virus that has already claimed the lives of more than 34,000 New Yorkers as long as management comes to the table and negotiates, and the rights of every union member are protected. Read the full message from the PSC Principal Officers about the possibility of a vaccine mandate.
The Build Back Better Act Could Transform CUNY
The Build Back Better Act includes $111 billion in higher education investments that could transform CUNY. Among many other progressive advances, this budget reconciliation bill, as currently written, would: make community college tuition-free; prevent state higher education funding cuts; establish tuition subsidies and provide direct funding for Minority Serving Institutions, including most CUNY colleges; increase the maximum Pell grant; and provide $9 billion for programs modeled after CUNY’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) and Accelerate, Complete, and Engage (ACE) initiatives.
The Build Back Better Act makes major advances toward many of our union’s long-term goals. Yet more must be done to achieve the full potential of our nation’s public universities and to end the chronic over-reliance on underpaid adjunct faculty by public universities. Send a letter today urging Congress to pass the Build Back Better Act and keep pushing for expansion of free tuition, greater investment in quality education and strong university labor protections.
Help #VaxUpCUNY
CUNY Rising Alliance will award the first #VaxUpCUNY prize—a Mac Book Pro—to a lucky, vaccinated CUNY student on Monday, September 27 at 6:30 PM. Register here to participate in the virtual event. You can log on to congratulate the winner, learn more about CUNY Rising and hear an update on the vaccination campaign and the campaign to pass the New Deal for CUNY.
Students who are already vaccinated can fill out this form for another chance to win. The next winner will receive a $2000 cash prize. PSC members can help promote vaccination by spreading the word on social media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook) and by sharing the campaign entry link in the chat of your virtual classes. Faculty can also click here to invite a CUNY Rising organizer to make a short presentation about the campaign during one of your online class meetings. This campaign is supported by a $100,000 Back to School for All grant awarded to the PSC by our national affiliate, the American Federation of Teachers.
PSC Resolves to Celebrate Freedom from Workplace Bullies Week in Honor of Graciano Matos
PSC delegates voted unanimously last night for a resolution honoring the memory of long-time union activist and CUNY colleague Graciano Matos, who died in June. At City College and in the PSC, Graciano served on many union and CUNY committees and was also a PSC delegate in the Higher Education Officer cross-campus chapter since 2010. He was a resolute and fierce anti-bullying advocate who served passionately and proudly on anti-bullying initiatives.
In passing the resolution, the PSC resolved to celebrate Freedom from Workplace Bullies Week in Graciano’s honor. The PSC Anti-Bullying Committee is organizing Freedom from Workplace Bullies Week October 18-22, as part of National Bullying Prevention Month. Additional events to confront workplace bullying at CUNY are scheduled in November and December. Click here for the full schedule and here to register for the first event, Bullying 101: A session on the costs of bullying at CUNY, on Monday, October 4 at 6:30 p.m.
