The PSC-CUNY, our union, has been in negotiations with CUNY administration for over a year. Unfortunately, many adjuncts feel left out of this process.
On November 4, 2015, CUNY made an offer that amounted to a pay cut. The PSC rejected the offer and walked out, whereupon 54 PSC members (including three full-time and two adjunct faculty members from College of Staten Island) were arrested in a civil disobedience protest. The union is currently increasing the pressure on CUNY to negotiate in good faith and make an offer that is good for all faculty and staff and supports a good education for the students.
 |
| Photo by Eric Paul, Nov. 4 at CUNY headquarters |
What are the union's demands for adjuncts in the next contract?
In 2010, the Delegate Assembly of the PSC adopted its bargaining demands for the next contract, and several excellent demands for adjuncts were included. Of particular relevance are Demand 3 ("Movement toward Adjunct Salary Parity") and Demand 22 ("Adjunct Workforce Stability" [job security]). PSC Contract Demands - Clarion, December 2010
The negotiating team, however, has selected its own emphases and priorities from among those demands. They have stated that their priority (only?) demand for adjuncts is some kind of job security. Because negotiations are conducted behind closed doors, many adjuncts worry about possibly being shortchanged.
As the union escalates the pressure on CUNY, adjuncts are escalating the pressure on the PSC leadership and negotiating team to keep faith with adjuncts.
Here are some highlights (emphasis added) from the special Dec 2010 edition of the Clarion:
- address the current bargaining climate through a strategic approach to union priorities
- maintain progress on competitive salaries
- restructure full-time faculty workload to allow more time for students and research, and improve student retention
- achieve substantial movement toward parity and job stability for adjuncts
- create a process for advancement for HEOs
- address long-standing inequities (library faculty, law school, and others)
- improve the working lives of faculty & staff, often through low- or no-cost measures such as tuition waivers
- take other steps to improve professional life and strengthen labor relations at CUNY
What is in the old (but still functioning) contract?
PSC website information about contracts
Current salary schedules
The full 2007-10 PSC contract
