Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

PSC CUNY

PSC CUNY

  • CUNY Funding a Key Issue in State and City Budget Negotiations

     

    Gov. Hochul speaks at LaGuardia Community College CUNY (photo: @CUNY)


    Funding for the City University of New York, CUNY, is among a number of major focus issues as elected officials negotiate a new state budget this month and a new city budget by July.

    Lawmakers, students, faculty, and others are concerned about proposals in both Governor Kathy Hochul’s and Mayor Eric Adams’ budget proposals, which are now the source of negotiations with their respective legislatures. Though Hochul included a modest increase in overall funding for CUNY in her January executive budget, she also proposed

    ...
  • CUNY Union Rallies for New Contract Amid Push for Additional State Budget Investment

     

    PSC CUNY contract rally (photo: @psccunygc)


    City University of New York faculty, staff, and students marched outside CUNY Central headquarters in East Midtown early Monday morning, in a nearly 500 person-strong rally organized by the Professional Staff Congress – the union representing over 30,000 CUNY employees. The rally was scheduled for the eve of the expiration of PSC’s labor contract with CUNY, and union members are gearing up to negotiate an extensive list of demands for their first contract since before the covid pandemic.

    Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and PSC President James Davis

    ...
  • What’s Next for CUNY After Three Tumultuous Pandemic School Years

     

    CUNY Chancellor Matos Rodriguez (third from left) visits Guttman Community College (photo: CUNY)


    The City University of New York (CUNY), the largest urban public university system in the country, is at something of a crossroads. Coming out of two especially challenging pandemic school years, the university just completed a mostly in-person year, with the usual sweep of celebratory in-person graduations, and graduates entering a strong economy.

    On the other hand, the COVID-19 pandemic is not gone, and neither are the

    ...
  • State Budget Includes Big Boost for CUNY

    City University of New York (photo: CUNY)


    The $220 billion state budget passed by Governor Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature over the weekend included a significant increase in operational and capital funding for CUNY, the City University of New York that educates roughly 275,000 students across 25 schools.

    The new funding will help cover student tuition assistance, faculty hiring, child care programs, fringe benefits for staffers and more. But while significant, the increase of roughly $240 million in CUNY

    ...
  • Max Politics Podcast: A New Deal for CUNY?

    psc president james davis march 600

    PSC CUNY President James Davis (photo courtesy of Professional Staff Congress)


    December 15, 2021 - Max Politics Podcast: A New Deal for CUNY?

    James Davis, President of the Professional Staff Congress of CUNY, joined the show to discuss where things stand at the City University of New York and the push by his union and its allies for reforms, increased funding, and a "New Deal for CUNY."

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter ...

  • State Legislators, Advocacy Coalition Launch Push for ‘New Deal for CUNY’

    CUNY students

    CUNY graduates (photo: CUNY)


    Brooklyn State Senator Andrew Gounardes, Bronx Assemblymember Karines Reyes, the CUNY Rising Alliance, and others are holding a virtual press conference Friday to promote the proposed “New Deal for CUNY.”

    The New Deal for CUNY includes three main goals that deal with the university’s funding, spending, staffing, and campuses, would be implemented over the course of five years, and would make CUNY tuition- and fee-free for New

    ...
  • CUNY Faces Massive Potential Shakeup Due to City and State Budget Cuts

    CUNY students

    CUNY Graduates (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    As CUNY braces for tens of millions of dollars of potential city and state cuts to its budget, hundreds of its most vulnerable employees are bracing for pink slips. 

    Colleges across the sprawling, citywide public university system have announced contingency plans to drastically reduce course offerings, adjunct professors and other part-time employees ahead of expected budget shortfalls, leaving many unsure of their positions for the upcoming semester.

    Manhattan’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice,

    ...
  • Why I’m Voting No on the CUNY Staff Contract

    peteharrison cuny

    PSC CUNY rally, with the author center back (photo: @PeteHarrisonNYC)


    After over two years of negotiations, the Professional Staff Congress of the City University of New York (PSC-CUNY) and the university have reached a tentative deal on a new contract for the 30,000 faculty, adjuncts, librarians, and professional staff in our union.

    The leadership of PSC-CUNY has hailed the contract as a historic deal and part of a larger stand against austerity. In particular, they sight the pay

    ...
  • A Historic CUNY Labor Contract

    031519actions45

    (photo: Dave Sanders)


    At 2 a.m. on Friday October 18, I walked out of the Manhattan headquarters of the City University of New York (CUNY) having helped to line-edit a labor contract memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the sixth time that day.

    I sit on the bargaining team of the Professional Staff Congress, an American Federation of Teachers local that represents some 30,000 employees at CUNY. The bargaining unit includes adjunct and full-time faculty, professional staff, graduate employees, college laboratory technicians, and many others. More than half a

    ...