Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC)

Management: There will not be a loss in funding for students. Students will have more choices. EOs are now finalizing options and talking to campus chairs. Options could include: mentoring undergraduates, work in teaching and writing centers, acting as curator fellows (art history), or a 5th year experience. Monica Varsanyi is taking the lead.

Labor: Some 4th year students have taken leave and now it is difficult for them to get set up for next year. How will EOs working with multiple campuses lead to more consistency in appointments? Feels like there is little say in choices from a student perspective and no regimented way for students to be involved in the process. Campus needs are varied. Are we also taking opportunities away from adjuncts if there will be more 5th year teaching? Do you know the breakdown?

Management: We do not know the breakdown. It is a small number of 5th year fellows (perhaps 170?). Will have Monica talk to EOs about communication. Can do a better job with communication to students.

Labor: Some 4th years are being pressured to teach in their 5th year and that is being proposed as their only option. The deadline for accepting a teaching position is coming up on November 1st, but we don’t know what other options there could be.

Management: Students have taught before in their 5th year.

Labor: Isn’t this useful for campuses undergoing a budget crisis?

Management: Providing professional development opportunities is most important to Brumberg.

Labor: Part of WAC is the opportunity to interface with different positions to potentially be hired, do you know about placement after WAC?

Management: No knowledge and no data. Hiring across CUNY is very low right now. A lot of our graduates end up teaching at CUNY. Brumberg is interested in supporting community colleges especially, having conversations with David Humphries who came up through WAC and is involved in MALS. Piloting 5 PhDs to serve as research mentors at hostos for undergraduates.

Labor: Having talked to graduates who went through WAC, they appreciated it as an avenue to be promoted from within. Anything that can be done to preserve the opportunities to understand CUNY and then be hired from the inside would be good, many folks cite WAC as the reason they are in their full time jobs at CUNY.

Management: One of the goals is to create these relationships.

Labor: Some of these positions in development sound similar to fellowships via Mellon funding. Some 4th and 5th years have been opting out to do Teaching and Learning Center positions. We are concerned because these folks were working 15 hours/week instead of 7.5. How is this now going to impact those programs?

Management: This will give them more “people power” to do more positions.

Labor: Outside of the student perspective, how is Monica reaching out? There will be a fellowship for the GC library. Have other libraries across CUNY been contacted?

Management: Doesn’t know, will get back to us

Labor: Choice requires time. In each department staff are being asked to duplicate the work of figuring out what grad students need to do.

Management: That is the role of the EO.

Labor: What does the website say about 5th year opportunities if it won’t be WAC?

Management: Not sure (we later found it still describes WAC)

Labor: How do we ensure these fellowships are not displacing permanent full or part time positions?

Management: I don’t know. HR data is compartmentalized. They only have access to the GC.

Labor: We see the GC is hiring a new position, Employee Engagement and Development Manager (HR Manager) who will oversee internship programs. Is this in any way related to WAC?

Management: No, the internship program is for offices (HR and IT primarily) to provide additional support, help desks, back office processing.

Labor: Is this displacing or supplementing the help desk?

Management: They would be supplementing the help desk. The GC is happy to partner with an outside company, Perscholas, that gives students “real world experience.” Not displacing any workers, see this as a “win win” to provide students from other universities with internships because hiring and maintaining IT workers is competitive, this would give experience. A way for us to get “some talent” and students to gain experience who would not have these types of opportunities.

Labor: Is there a path to employment at CUNY?

Management: This is a test. We don’t think these interns are getting paid, they get credit (in their academic programs).

Labor: So these interns would be outside of any bargaining unit?

Management: yes

Removal of Starbucks from the GC Resolution

Management: They are not sure how Aladdin chooses coffee to serve. There were multiple stakeholders to choose Aladdin. They did get drink prices down. Additionally, Aladdin is donating $25,000 to the GC food pantry. They will be purchasing food for the pantry. Last year the GC could only spend $8,800. These funds will not decrease GC funding, but will allow updates to facilities (installing a linoleum floor in the pantry space for refrigerators to sit on top of). They plan to provide refrigerated food and perishable goods in the future, probably January. Will also offer other items as requested, diapers and hygiene items. The hours are now 8am-8pm. Also doing electrical work from a DGSC request to bring back vending machines.

Student Emergency Grants

Labor: What is the rate of success in applications for student emergency grants and what committee reviews applications?

Management: Brought this data:

1. 2022: 65% approved
2. 2023: 59% approved
3. 2024 so far: 62% approved

• Most common reason for refusal of funds: don’t demonstrate a short term emergency
• Committee: Phyllis Schulz, Matt Shoengood, Monica Varsanyi, Brian Gibney
• 3 biggest reasons students asked for funding: dental emergencies, unforeseen computer calamities, issues with housing

Lippman Report

Management: What do you want us to talk about? Not sure why CUNY was singled out as opposed to any other university or institution. It was a big number, 200 people, but it really a non-representative sample of interviews. They deep dived onto some campuses. No additional resources to address some of the issues that were identified.

Labor: How do you see it being implemented at the GC?

Management: “You have to be civil to each other.” Words we say can be triggering to others. Civil conversations, not talking through each other, everyone has to respect each other, each individual has to come up with their own decision. “Agreeing to disagree is a fine place to be.”

Constructive dialog initiative coming up, Brumberg attended plus four faculty members. DGSC also nominated some people to take the training, not sure who. Listed folks who would be attending in the future: Brett Stout from Psychology, [a faculty member from History?], Chief Librarian Maura Smale, Associate Registrar Anick Rolland.

Brumberg said people are being “absolute” and expect others to agree with them 100%

Labor: It is fine to say these things in the abstract and we have to talk polite but we have to real about the power imbalances. A certain Zionist perspective has much more power behind it, we can blind ourselves to the way institutions make decisions.

Management: Obviously there is a power imbalance, all I can do is try to make an impact here at the GC. And try to defend everyone’s right to say what they want to say. “The president of the GC should not have a foreign policy.”

Labor: Just thinking about the report and instances in which this has come up in a workplace context, if there is a situation where a worker is being adjudicated, what definition of antisemitism is being used?

Management: CUNY hasn’t adopted a definition yet. There is a webinar folks can see?

Labor: We don’t have a chapter policy, but have concerns about the IHRA definition.

Management: Announced November 4 event on Kristallnacht (not on the GC calendar yet)

ASRC and NYPD

Labor: Why was the NYPD involved in the ASRC graffiti?

Management: CCNY security brought in the NYPD to address vandalism and broken windows at the ASRC. It wasn’t because of just the graffiti, windows were broken. Believes the same “perps” also went north to congressman (?)’s office. “We have to pay for that now,” estimated to be $50,000 in repairs. During the takeover of the lobby, damage happened to front GC doors, repairs were paid by GC. On Monday there will be a community meeting to talk about the incident. Traumatized is too strong a word, distressed over physical vandalism.

GC Timesheets for Full Time Employees

Labor: President Garell had stated back in 2020 that they had found a vendor to replace the previous one for timesheets, but then discovered that it didn’t meet the necessary security requirements.The previous system allowed people to see leave balances in real time. I’d like to know if there’s any update so we can see in our annual leave in real time and don’t have to request balances to plan time off.

Management: CUNYFirst made us lose Banner, and CUNYfirst was supposed to have eTime. For internal reasons it never went through. Adopted another system, can’t remember name, but it was determined by Central CUNY to be a cybersecurity risk. Went back to paper (actually excel spreadsheets). Plan to pilot new system in HR and IT–both those offices have people in multiple titles in multiple unions. CUNY is transitioning from CUNYfirst to Workday and it will have a time and leave in 2 years. Reach out to time and leave to get your balances, and you should get it in 2-3 days.

Changes to Title IX and Mandatory Reporting

Labor: We have some very specific questions but we are short on time. The main concern is for folks in multiple positions/roles like graduate students who also teach where does the mandatory reporting begin and end? I.e. if two grad students are speaking to one another who also teach?

Management: I don’t know. Training available, reach out to Jessica Morack. Offered to have Jessica come to a meeting/chapter meeting to take our questions.This is legalistic and specific, so deferring to her in addressing the questions. Pregnant women are now a protected class.

Labor: What happens when someone does not report?

Management: This was asked in the APO meeting; nothing happens. Wellness Center and ombudsman is confidential but everything else is not. Suggested as a strategy you can tell students if you do not want them to disclose, that you are required to report.

Labor: It is a bad situation to tell students to stop sharing.

Management: To protect the institution, We have to offer the training. We have to say that we gave you the information. They are not aware of disciplinary consequences.