New Caucus is a “political party” within the Professional Staff Congress (PSC/CUNY). Our members include the current leadership of the PSC. This email comes from the Governing Board of the Caucus and does not represent an official statement of the PSC or its officers.

1. Non-Essential Personnel Should Not Be Working On-Site

If any further clarification were necessary, Governor Cuomo’s statement should eliminate all doubt: NO ONE should be working on-site except for those previously deemed essential: food pantries, public safety, facilities, and, if necessary, childcare employees. Thanks to the PSC’s relentless pressure, many colleges and college presidents now seem to get this simple fact. However, some college presidents still appear to be acting in violation of the Governor’s order and should be held responsible for the spread of sickness and potentially death. If you are a PSC member being wrongly told to report to campus, we urge you to contact your supervisor and say that you are ready to work, but only from home. Then, to protect yourself, notify the PSC offices and your Chapter Chair.

2. We Must Urgently Work for a Different Kind of New York and United States

PSC officers, chapters, and members have vigorously fought for the health and safety of its members, in addition to other workers and students across CUNY. This ongoing struggle shows that we can beat back attempts to put workers at risk, especially when the rank-and-file is activated and organized. We need to continue to exercise and strengthen these muscles in the weeks and months ahead.

But in this moment of crisis, we need to advance an alternative vision for just, equitable transformation of our university, city, and country. In Washington, a struggle is unfolding over whether the government will help workers or shareholders and disaster capitalists. In Albany, while we welcome Cuomo’s decisive response to the pandemic, all his worst tendencies have emerged around next year’s state budget. In previous years, he has bled CUNY and SUNY to the bone. Rather than raise taxes on the billionaires and the ultra-rich, Cuomo now demands even greater cuts. Shamefully, Assembly Leader Heastie and Senate Leader Stewart-Cousins seem willing to go along.

PSC and all CUNY workers must join with all their sisters and brothers in the labor movement, community organizations, and other progressive advocates to envision and demand a different future. Beyond the immediate healthcare mobilization, we need to be talking about Medicare-for-All, free college tuition, cancellation of all student and medical debt, and a Green New Deal that must now play a crucial part in rebuilding our economy for a more equitable future. Let’s organize to avoid the mistakes of the 2008 recession that bailed out banks and Wall St. but foreclosed on thousands of homes.

3. What Part Can the PSC and CUNY Play in Building a Better Future?

The labor movement can best win contractual gains for its members if it also fights for the needs of our wider communities. This idea, called Bargaining for the Common Good, is both a moral imperative and a practical one. Only the unity of all progressive advocates will be able to end the steady drip-drip-drip of attacks on workers and their unions. We invite you to join us, remotely, as we begin the discussion of how to apply these principles to our own struggles in this moment of crisis.

New Caucus Governing Board

James Davis, Brooklyn College
Luke Elliot-Negri, Graduate Center
Anne Friedman, Retiree
Geoffrey Kurtz, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Gerry Martini, Graduate Center
Eileen Moran, Retiree
Carly Smith, Baruch College
Pamela Stemberg, City College
Sharon Utakis, Bronx Community College

Join us on Wednesday, April 22 at 6 PM – 9 PM for our Zoom Roundtable: Bargaining for the Common Good in Higher Education

Featuring speakers from the Rutgers Center for Innovation in Worker Organization, CUNY Rising, and other public university systems.

Register in advance for this Zoom meeting using the following link:
https://us04web.zoom.us/meeting/register/u50vd-CqrTspQgZLpxnA9q4jiqout-ry8Q

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.