Workplace exploitation is unfortunately not uncommon at CUNY. This union-led event will help incoming and current graduate student workers understand their contractual rights as employees, so that they can better spot and resist exploitation or over-work at their assigned campuses. It’s easy to forget that we are not simply educators and university staff, but also […]
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Debt Reveal Day – April 15
When we hear “college debt crisis”, we usually think of student debt. But colleges and universities increasingly owe millions of dollars to private creditors and financial institutions as well. To keep the credit rankings high, college administrators prioritize debt payments at the expense of students, workers, and communities. CUNY is no exception. Public universities like […]
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Spring Phonebanking
We are holding weekly phonebanking sessions on alternating Tuesdays at 5:30pm (register here) and Thursdays at 1:30pm (register here). Training will be available for new phoners. Join us and build power with your colleagues! More fun than Ted makes it look. Plus with way cooler people than Ted.
On February 4, the Graduate Center Chapter of the PSC hosted an open forum on planned reductions in 2021-22 graduate admissions. The forum – for which 110 people registered – was designed to bring staff, students, and faculty together to take stock of what we know and plan a collective response. The first part of […]
On December 14, Graduate Center president Robin Garrell hosted a town hall event via Zoom. The webinar format did not conform to our usual expectations of town hall-type events, virtual or in-person: questions were pre-screened, chat was disabled, and we couldn’t see each other – only the president and her advisors. Technological constraints often necessitate […]
Our union chapter is large and diverse, comprising multiple titles, campuses, and work environments. Its executive committee—which includes staff, students, and faculty—reflects this heterogeneity. As such, we are acutely aware of the enormous obstacles that COVID-19 has thrown into the path of faculty and graduate students: added financial hardship, severe mental stress, and, of course, […]
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PSC Resolution on Defunding the NYPD
On Thursday, June 25, 2020, the PSC-CUNY delegate assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution on defunding the NYPD: The Professional Staff Congress Calls for Defunding the NYPD and Redirecting Resources to Education, Public Health, and Other Community Needs. Read the full text here.
At the April meeting of the PSC Delegate Assembly, one of the resolutions adopted by the PSC was the following: The PSC stands by the principle during the pandemic of “keep everyone working and getting paid” and maintaining health insurance and rejects any attempt to anticipate or resolve budget difficulties by dismissing or not reappointing […]
You can see the PDF of the agreement here: Graduate Assistants Summer 2020 Letter The text reads as follows: Dr. Barbara Bowen President Professional Staff Congress/CUNY 61 Broadway, 15th Floor New York, New York 10006 Dear Dr. Bowen: I write to confirm our agreement for Summer 2020 to interpret the term “work year” in […]
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Heartbreak and Hope
Friends and colleagues – Tom Waters, a doctoral student in the political science department, passed away on April 4th from COVID-19. Tom was a long-time leader in the New York tenant movement. He worked at the Community Service Society and served on the board of Tenants & Neighbors. I met Tom a number of times in […]
