STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Employees of the City University of New York (CUNY) are voicing their concerns about the return to teaching this fall.
On Saturday, members of the Professional Staff Congress (PSC), the union representing 30,000 faculty and staff at the City University of New York (CUNY) and the CUNY Research Foundation, participated in various simultaneous caravan protests across the city.
The demonstrations, one of which took place on Staten Island, were held in protest against the recent lay-off of 2,900 adjunct employees, potential state cuts to CUNY funding and the possibility of what the organization perceives to be a “dangerous, premature return to in-person instruction.”
“The members of the PSC refuse to normalize cuts and layoffs at CUNY. And we will not allow the University administration to put the lives of our members and students at risk by returning to campus before it is safe,” said Barbara Bowen, president of the PSC. “That’s why we’re demonstrating in the communities where our students live.”
The caravans kicked off simultaneously this morning in Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, with demonstrators covering their cars and bicycles in protest signs and honking their horns as they drove through communities heavily populated by CUNY students and alumni.
The various protests were simulcast using Zoom and can be viewed online at the PSC CUNY Facebook page.
The PSC recently filed a lawsuit against CUNY in the wake of the adjunct lay-offs, alleging the institution has not used its $132 million in CARES Act federal funding to maintain all workers to the greatest extent possible, as required by law.
Potential state funding cuts to CUNY could reach up to $95 million, according to the union, and at least 46 CUNY faculty members have died during the pandemic, escalating existing safety concerns regarding a potential return to the classroom.
“The union stands with CUNY students in our fight to save lives, save jobs and save CUNY. It’s now or never for the legislature and the governor to step up and demand that the rich pay their fair share in taxes. Any agenda for justice in rebuilding New York must include full funding of the university, its working people and communities of color,” Bowen said.
CUNY did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
