What a May Day! There were some great events all over the City last week, and CUNY was at the heart of them.

Above: students and teachers from Hunter College march into Central Park.

In the morning, students walked out of class at Kingsborough Community College (KCC) to denounce ongoing racist attacks and harassment by students, campus cops, and the college’s administration. 

 

These students then attended the Home Attendants Rally to end the 24-hour workday at City Hall.

From there, some of them continued their trek north to join a Hunter student walkout. Around 75 Hunter students and some faculty members gathered on the 3rd floor of Hunter West where they chanted “Fuck Austerity, stand in solidarity” and “Whose CUNY? Our CUNY!” Confronted by administrative personnel, the protestors stayed strong and proceeded to walk out of the building where they met up with the KCC contingent.

Click to play video ^^^

A speakout ensued outside Hunter West where students and adjuncts decried racist neoliberal austerity, expressed solidarity with workers across the country and around the world, and committed to the fight for a free CUNY with living wages for all employees.

After the speakout, the crowd marched through the affluent Upper East Side to Central Park, chanting their way to Bethesda Fountain. 

Click to play video ^^^

A bit later that afternoon, students and faculty at Lehman held a tabling event and a speakout to share concerns about the lack of contract negotiation and impending cuts at Lehman. They then celebrated May Day by marching and protesting around their campus and down the main road out of the university carrying signs that read “No cuts to CUNY” and “Free CUNY, End racism.”

Finally, in the evening, many CUNY workers joined the United Federation of Teachers Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE) at Battery Park to picket an exclusive banquet event at which Mayor Adamns was being presented with a literacy award (whatever that means) despite having cut hundreds of millions of dollars to NYC’s public schools budget. 

Click to play video ^^^

Other notable events included a May Day rally at Washington Square Park by NYU, where contract faculty are currently fighting to form a union, and rally in Union Square. 

Above: NYU Contract Faculty Rally

Above: Union Square Rally

Clearly, there is growing enthusiasm around the labor movement at the moment, particularly within higher education. With recent victories at Rutgers, NYU, the New School, UC, Governors State University, Fordham, Columbia, Temple, etc., the momentum keeps on building. As we prepare to enter into contract negotiations at CUNY, let’s keep building connections within and across our campuses, NYC, the state, the country, and the world. We’re already starting to plan for May Day 2024. Solidarity to the Writers’ Guild, to the protestors in France, and to all the working people of the world!

Please reach out to get involved in any aspects of organizing at CUNY. You can check out what events are coming up here, and you can email us at psccunygc@gmail.com.

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