Feb. 2024: Cuny goes to strike school!

In this edition:

RAFA members in coordination with other formations have been busy building towards a stronger contract for CUNY workers while engaged in related struggles like Palestinian liberation and migrant solidarity. In this edition of the Dispatch, read about building strike schools across campuses and attending labor training, confronting CUNY management’s many underhanded tricks at open bargaining, exposing the injustices of the migrant “crisis” at the GC, protesting the Mayor’s blatant disregard for public education, and confronting Zionist forces retaliating against Palestinian solidarity propping up the ongoing genocide.

Building for CUNY on Strike!

On Friday, January 26, over 200 CUNY workers and students (split across in-person and online modalities) attended the first “Strike School” of the year, an initiative organized by the CUNY On Strike campaign. Strike School is modeled off of a series of events by the same name hosted by organizers at Rutgers University in the year leading up to their own strike last spring.

A room full of organizers. Photo by David Klassen

When a union isn’t strike-ready, the only way to become strike-ready is to start talking about it. Strike School discusses the harsh conditions faced by CUNY employees right now (low wages, mass cuts and layoffs, serious overwork due to understaffing, and more) and argues that more militant tactics are needed to protect ourselves and our coworkers. Organizers also began a preliminary discussion of the Taylor Law (the law making public sector strikes illegal in New York) and its penalties before introducing some basic organizing how-to’s. Building a strike is difficult even under the best of circumstances, and the Taylor Law makes it even more complex, but this work is worth doing — a strike-ready union is a powerful union, and getting more organized is always a good thing. Also, illegal strikes work. Strike School concluded with participants circling up with other workers from their campuses and discussing next steps that make sense for each campus’s unique situation.

You can learn more about the CUNY On Strike campaign on their website, follow them on Twitter, and for CUNY workers and students, sign up for the next Strike School (February 22, Zoom) here. Get in touch at cunyonstrike@gmail.com to get connected with other organizers at your campus!

Open Bargaining Update by Ángeles Donoso Macaya

Bargaining sessions are now open to PSC members, a demand that the PSC rank-and-file have been asking for for a long time. This signals that the PSC Executive Council and the bargaining team are committed to make a process that concerns us all more inclusive. (a note on terminology: I won’t refer to the administration simply as “CUNY,” because we—faculty, staff, and students—are CUNY; indeed more CUNY than those who manage the university from above.)

I have attended two bargaining sessions. During the June 30 session, the PSC outlined the union’s vision for this contract, and shared tables comparing compensation for adjunct instructors at different schools in the tri-state area. The attitude of CUNY management was dismissive. They didn’t offer any definitive counterargument other than Columbia, NYU, and the likes “were not comparable institutions” to us, as though adjuncts don’t teach across all these institutions. Another moment worth evoking was when they attempted to discuss (even bargain?) our presence in the room, which clearly made them uncomfortable. Lead negotiator Doriane Gloria asked James Davis how he intended “to control” the audience (as if we were kids who don’t know how to behave): how was he going to ensure that we didn’t do anything that was out of protocol? I commend James Davis for not giving in to CUNY management’s attempt to micromanage who could and could not be present in the room.

In the second session I attended, the PSC presented demands related to remote and flexible work, and to multi-year appointments for adjuncts. Management’s attitude on this session was once again careless, and, at times, even disrespectful. While some of our colleagues were sharing testimonials, for instance, I noticed some CUNY management people looking at their phones, others yawning, others expressing through their body posture that they were not really listening. When I watched this whole interaction, I couldn't help but think of something obvious—that each party has a radically different conceptualization of the work we do, and of the space where we work: for PSC-members, and this was made manifest in the testimonials, the kind of work we do is valuable and worth-investing in. We work in an educational setting, we believe education is fundamental, and we care about the well-being of our students and of everyone who works at CUNY. For management, CUNY is basically another corporation.

Moving forward, while the level of transparency is commendable, the PSC could be more open in their updates about the quality of some of the interactions we have seen at bargaining sessions, which could be a great tool to build power. Sharing more examples of the disregard, carelessness, and disrespect shown by CUNY management at bargaining sessions could rile up more members to attend sessions, and get more involved in the union more generally. And, if CUNY management refuses to budge, I don’t think it would be wise for the PSC to go years without a contract, as it happened in 2010-2016, but rather start organizing soon towards a strike authorization vote.

We Need to See the Pie by Marc Kagan

Management is management, but CUNY’s decision to bring in an outside gunslinger, Gary Dellaverson, the former longtime head of Labor Relations at the notoriously evil MTA, to join their negotiating team at the January 26th session, portends a new turn in our contract bargaining. Most immediately, and ominously, management spent the session complaining that the PSC had too many demands; it was "time to stop with the wish list and realize that what we want and what we can have are two different things." After three months, during which CUNY halted negotiations, it had nothing to say or propose other than to point to the recent CUNY-DC37 agreement of 14.9% over 67 months and a signing bonus which will not fold into the wage rate as the $$$ pattern for our own contract.

Dellaverson’s specific “contribution” was two-fold and mimicked how he negotiated against the transit workers’ union in the early 2002s. (For those who want to read more about this, see here.) First, he pushed the PSC to abandon open bargaining and do much of the rest of the negotiating in small and closed “subcommittees.” In transit, that was a recipe for deal-making in which the interests of some sections of the membership were sacrificed out of sight of workers and even the officers representing those members. That’s a recipe for creating internal divisions within the union. Moreover, once those subcommittee deals are struck, it’s hard for a larger group to unwind them.

That was underscored by Dellaverson’s talk of “flexibility… to meet certain needs of certain job titles” – but only within the DC37 wage pattern, i.e., more for some, less for others. In transit, Dellaverson was notorious for helping the union leadership solve immediate (internal) political problems by sacrificing long-term gains for the MTA – more control of work product by management, more low-paid and part-time workers, and less job security.

Members who attend bargaining sessions need to insist that all bargaining remain out in the open. We need to see the pie as it’s being assembled and baked, not just once it’s sliced and on the table. And we need to make sure that we don’t make dangerous concessions to Dellaverson and management in exchange for a few crumbs.

Upcoming Bargaining Sessions (after you attend an orientation, you will receive an invite to join a session, subject to space constraints):

Wednesday, Feb 7, 1 – 5 PM (observers must attend from 12:30-5:30 PM),
Location: CUNY Central Office @ 205 E 42nd St

Thursday, Feb 29, 1 – 5 PM (observers must attend from 12:30-5:30 PM),
Location: PSC Office @ 25 Broadway

Upcoming Bargaining Orientations:

Wednesday, Feb 14, 1:00-2:00pm, online Orientation to PSC-CUNY Bargaining Observation, click here to register for the Zoom and confirm your attendance.

Wednesday, Feb 21, 6:30-7:30pm, online Orientation to PSC-CUNY Bargaining Observation, click here to register for the Zoom and confirm your attendance.

Monday, March 4, 6:30-7:30pm, online Orientation to PSC-CUNY Bargaining Observation, click here to register for the Zoom and confirm your attendance.

Countering the Migrant “Crisis” at the Graduate Center by Mariel Acosta

Since September 2023 the Student-Parents Organization and the Dominican Studies Group have opened the Grad Center for mutual aid distribution and created an information space for migrants and asylum seekers for the over a dozen shelters in the midtown area, and from others around the city. In November, 2023 these student organizations, supported by local mutual aid groups hosted the Afternoon of Solidarity with Migrant Families event, serving over 100 attendees. The event had a free store where families could “shop” for winter clothes, coats, toys, multilingual books, and other supplies. At the event everyone enjoyed a warm meal and the children danced, played, and did arts and crafts.

The Student-Parents Organization and the Dominican Studies Group have activated these GC spaces politically for migrant mutual aid work. These uses of GC space have allowed us to build bonds: here our new neighbors feel welcomed, they can come to ask questions and get resources and they can spend time with each other and socialize outside of the confines of a shelter or a respite center.

*West African mothers picking up items at the distro area set up at the Dominican Studies Group office where families come weekly. Jan 2024.*

On January 29, 2024, the Dominican Studies Group hosted a walking tour of the distro spaces at the Grad Center, the Row hotel (migrant family shelter) and Roosevelt hotel (migrant family shelter and arrival and intake center) both located midtown. CUNY students, staff and faculty from the Grad Center and beyond attended to learn about the so-called migrant 'crisis' in New York and were invited to mobilize and support the efforts to meet the needs of our new community members.

The SPO and DSG are still taking donations for migrants and asylum seekers in the City. Most needed items right now include coats, winter books, sneakers, luggage with wheels and new underwear (see flyer here for more information). You can leave donations in the DGSC lounge (5495). For more info, or to get involved, email macostamatos@gradcenter.cuny.edu

"Unwelcoming" Mayor Adams at Hostos

colorful protesters gathering holding signs. Photo by David Klassen

A confluence of social movement groups and organizations gathered at Hostos Community College on January 24 to protest Mayor Adams’s State of the City address. Adams has referred to himself as the CUNY Mayor, but those of us who turned out to protest his appearance were having none of it. No CUNY degree can cancel out this mayor’s attack on our university, and the crowds chanted “Fund CUNY, Not Jails” at the scores of attendees lining up outside Hostos. Although the official PSC invite to the protest did not arrive until the morning of the event, PSC members had been planning a grassroots showing for weeks, focused not only on calling the mayor out for imposing budget cuts on CUNY but also for his anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian policies and his constant bolstering of the NYPD and inhumane conditions at Rikers. Bronx Action Coalition met at a nearby park and marched over in a joyously militant group of students, faculty, and staff based in the Bronx campuses.

Secrets of a Successful Organizer

On February 3, Rank and File Action partnered with our allies in the United Federation of Teachers Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE) to hold an all-day Secrets of a Successful Organizer training at the CUNY Graduate Center. This Labor Notes training is designed to help rank and file workers to build power on the job, and focuses on getting workers involved in union work, putting together an organizing team, and building a successful campaign. We are excited to build rank and file power among K-PhD educators of New York City.

There is an online secrets training series coming up in late February/early March, and we are looking to schedule another in-person one for CUNY workers.

Note: the Labor Notes biannual conference is coming up in April! If you are a CUNY worker planning to or interested in attending, and would like to consider fundraising for it, email Boyda at johnstoneb@gmail.com

CUNY for Palestine Organizing against the Genocide

With the US-backed genocide in Gaza now in its fourth month, CUNY for Palestine (C4P) has been busy organizing together with RAFA and various student and worker CUNY-wide/NY Palestine solidarity groups to raise awareness and mobilize the CUNY community to oppose the genocide and stand in solidarity with Palestine liberation. This includes an ongoing teach-in series. Most recently, C4P held a teach-in on ‘Radical Solidarity and Organic Connections: Palestinian, Black, Puerto Rican, and Filipino Liberation Struggles.’

The next teach-in is scheduled for Monday, February 5th on ‘Kashmir and Palestine: Thinking Solidarity Across Settler Colonial Contexts w/Hafsa Kanjwa & Azad’ at 7pm (register here: https://forms.gle/o8esLfXL5Jp3yXAZ9).

As part of C4P’s coalition building, we have endorsed and participated in several recent NYC wide protests and rallies. This includes the January 12th, Palestine Feminist Collective for a day of action in Manhattan against colonial-imperialist feminism (photo below).

On January 26th, C4P participated in a rally organized by the Audre Lorde Project to demonstrate the LGBTQ community’s solidarity with Palestine, and on January 25th C4P joined the New York City Worker for Palestine rally, rejecting mayor Eric Adam's zionism, racist austerity, inhumane treatment of migrants, and increased spending for the institutions of organized violence including the police and prisons.

As part of CUNY for Palestine’s campaign against the systematic targeting of Palestinian higher education and in partnership with Students for Justice in Palestine, C4P supported the “No Back to School as Normal'' campus-wide rallies that took place at the start of the Spring semester. C4P has also endorsed the National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) campaign for a National Day of Action on Thursday, February 8th. C4P endorsed Not In Our Name’s email campaign on January 3rd, sending letters of dissent directed at several university administrations and campus Hillels for their complicity in genocide and anti-Palestinian racism. On February 2nd C4P organized a contingent to the Within Our Lifetime protest in solidarity with Columbia student organizer and protesters who were attacked with skunk spray by zionist/former members of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on January 19th.

C4P also has been supporting ad-hoc campaigns to protect students and faculty (especially adjuncts) from repression and retaliation and welcomed the successful vote at the December Delegate Assembly of the PSC-CUNY for the union to sign on to the U.S. labor movement ceasefire statement. C4P issued a statement celebrating the vote and calling for the union to do more to stand in solidarity with Palestinian workers facing genocide, including by heeding the Palestinian trade union call to support BDS and end all US military aid to Israel as well as to put in place measures to protect CUNY workers and students from doxing and other forms of zionist harassment and attacks.

For more info or to join, email C4P at: cuny4palestine@gmail.com Keep up to date with our campaigns, events and more by following us on social media: X: @Cuny4P; Instagram:@cuny4palestine & Linktree