“In 1995, the New Caucus began as an insurgent group within the Professional Staff Congress (PSC)…. It had a twofold purpose: to transform the union into an agency that would fight for workers’ rights and social justice; and to protect the right of New Yorkers to attend the City University of New York, working to keep it open, accessible, and of high quality to improve the lives of the students and their families. In order to do this, the New Caucus knew it was necessary to see an active, engaged membership working collaboratively with labor, students and community groups.”

With these words, the Northstar Foundation (https://northstarfund.org) described the New Caucus in 2001 when it gave us its annual Frederick Douglass Award. Since 2000, New Caucus has been the elected leadership of the central union and has worked “collaboratively with labor, students and community groups” to fulfill the goals described in Northstar’s tribute.