Who we are and why you should join

Who We Are and Why You Should Join

membership_dues150Union caucuses are like political parties within the union.  Founded in 1995, the New Caucus ran winning slates in several CUNY campus union elections then won election to PSC-wide leadership in 2000.  From its inception, the New Caucus sought to transform the union into an agency that fights for workers’ rights and social justice, both among its members and in the broader community. Relatedly, the New Caucus works to protect the integrity of CUNY and the right of New Yorkers to excellent public higher education, by organizing to keep CUNY accessible, and of high quality, so as to improve the lives of students and their families.  In order to accomplish these goals, the New Caucus has fostered an active, engaged membership, working collaboratively with labor, students and community groups.  In the face of two economic crises (post 9/11 and the 2008-09 recession) the New Caucus has mobilized PSC members and built strategic alliances to fight austerity politics.  You should join the New Caucus because we create a space for discussion and debate about how to pursue these principles most effectively. See also our brochure.

Achievements

In recent years, the New Caucus has won substantial economic gains for full-time faculty and professional staff; a major wage increase and a paid professional hour per course for adjunct faculty, including graduate employees, along with a job stability provision for long-serving adjuncts and health insurance in the third semester teaching multiple courses; reclassification and salary increase opportunities for HEOs; equity raises for CLTs; sabbatical improvements and a reduced teaching load for full-time faculty at community colleges and senior colleges; paid parental leave; and enhancements to the Welfare Fund that provides medical benefits.

Vision for the future

  • In today’s “right to work” reality, the union will only be as strong as its weakest link. Above all, the New Caucus will continue to expand its membership base, supporting solidarity, education, and active participation in local chapter and Caucus work. We understand that the work of membership and the union’s future vitality is the collective responsibility of all members, and it is our role to strengthen these efforts in the broader union.
  • The New Caucus commits to challenging the long-term trend of disinvestment in higher education. The most striking evidence is the academy’s embrace of contingent, underpaid labor, most egregiously among adjunct teaching faculty. The New Caucus will continue the fight for fair and equal pay among CUNY’s workforce, and against the intensified trend toward contingency. Austerity is artificial in its politics but real in its effects. The New Caucus will continue to work with fellow unionists, students, and communities to expose the former and redress the latter.
  • Uniting these visions is our understanding of the critical role that labor must play in articulating and creating a just, thriving, and sustainable future for all of us. Social justice demands, beyond narrow interests, must animate our union work. The New Caucus celebrates the resurgence of unions, organizing, and militant labor action from K-12 through the colleges and university systems, and continues to seek and build solidarity with our brothers and sisters in education and beyond whose fight is for the common good.

Caucus leaders:

Governing Board (2024-2027): Marcella Bencivenni, Holly Clarke, James Davis, Stuart Davis, Rulisa Galloway-Perry, Nivedita Majumdar, Veronica Ordaz, Michael Spear, Laura Stephens, Lynne Turner, Felicia Wharton

Coordinators: Holly Clarke, Stuart Davis, Joseph Entin, Veronica Ordaz, Claudia Shacter-deChabert, Elizabeth (Liz) Stevenson

Treasurer: Donna Gill

To join the New Caucus or donate: Click the link to the membership form on the campaign donation page

To contact us: psccunynewcaucus@gmail.com