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Agenda for special chapter meeting, 3:30 – 6:30Please sign in! Introductions, vote on agenda and times3:30-3:40Update on the?contract, including contract demands and timeline for voting on the proposed contract.3:40-4:10Brainstorm creative actions to support a new contract, and to support money for CUNY without increases in student tuition. 4:10-5:30A resolution from some of our members for a strike authorization campaign.5:30-6:20Update on the?contractThese are the contract demands that we hope will make it into the actual contract.Proposed Increases for AdjunctsAll employees in teaching adjunct titles be paid at their current teaching adjunct rate for one additional hour for every one teaching contact hour. Doing so would double adjunct pay. It would also give formal recognition of the many, many hours of work outside of class needed to teach a college course. The proposal is an investment in both adjuncts and CUNY students.For example, an adjunct currently paid the minimum rate, $71.59 per teaching hour, would—under the union’s proposal—be paid an additional $71.59 for every class hour. So for a three-contact-hour class, for which an adjunct is currently paid $71.59 x 3 hours x 15 weeks, or $3,222, an adjunct under the union’s proposal would be paid $71.59 x 6 hours x 15 weeks, or $6,443, plus all negotiated across-the-board increases. The result would bring the minimum pay per three-contact-hour class to above $6,900.In formal terms, the union proposed that we replace Article 15.2 (b) of the current contract, which provides certain adjuncts with one paid professional hour per week for every two courses, with a provision stipulating that:All employees in teaching adjunct titles be paid at their current teaching adjunct rate for one additional hour for every one paid teaching contact hour.One of the paid hours per course per week must be used as an office hour and must be formalized in whatever manner other office hours in the adjunct’s department are formalized.The additional paid hours outside of class time are to be used on the adjunct’s own schedule and at the adjunct’s own direction for course preparation, evaluation of student work and other tasks necessary to teach the class and contribute to student success. There is no restriction on where the work during these hours may take place.Paid hours resulting from this provision shall not be counted toward the maximum adjunct teaching hours in Article 15.2 (a).Management’s proposal had included a minor provision for one paid hour per adjunct per semester for various training programs required by the State, on such issues as sexual harassment. The union included this one hour per semester in our proposal.Proposed Across-the-Board IncreasesDecember 1, 2017: 2%December 1, 2018: 2% compoundedDecember 1, 2019: 2.5% compoundedDecember 1, 2020: 3% compoundedProposed Equity Increases$1,500 on base salary for full-time CLTs and LecturersAdditional funds for professional development grants and PSC-CUNY AwardsGraduate employee improvementsAn increase in support for Department Chairs; and needs for employees in other titles.The union also proposed a $100 per capita increase to the PSC-CUNY Welfare Fund to maintain and enhance supplemental health benefits such as prescription drugs, optical and dental care. Management had proposed half that amount.Proposed Non-Economic DemandsAnti-bullying languageTuition waivers for children of full-time employees who attend CUNYImplementation of NY State Paid Family Leave for all eligible members of the bargaining unit (considered non-economic because it would be paid for by small salary deductions), in addition to the existing Paid Parental LeaveRestructuring of the Graduate Assistant title and restructuring of the committee in Article 11.2 (b)Improvements in the HEO salary differential processAdjunct Multi-Year Appointments: change eligibility requirement to 10 out of the last 12 semestersImproved tuition waivers for part-time employees, including non-teaching adjuncts and Continuing Education teachersProtections of rights in use of educational technologyChanges in Articles 4 and 5 on practices of dues check-off and employee informationImprovements in contractual language on letters of appointment for non-teaching adjunctsExpansion of contractual protections for instructors in Continuing Ed, CUNY Start and CLIPNon-economic protections on late paychecks for adjunctsFormation of an exploratory task force on childcare options for employeesTimetableThe bargaining team of the PSC believes that it is close to reaching an agreement with CUNY. The City and State must approve any agreement that the PSC has with CUNY.Once that happens, the bargaining team brings the agreement to the Executive committee of the PSC. If a majority of the executive committee votes yes, it goes to the Delegate Assembly to vote on. If the DA votes yes, it goes out to the whole entire membership to vote on – you will get something in the mail. It’s important to vote! Voting shows how strong and interested a membership we have, which is part of what helps us to get money for CUNY from the City and State. Brainstorming creative actions to support a new contract and to support money for CUNY without increases in student tuition.The issue:CUNY has a money problem. At the senior colleges, there are hiring freezes and cutbacks on reassign time. The number of full-time faculty per student has been decreasing (see the latest issue of the Clarion). At BMCC, it hasn’t been quite as bad because we get our much of our funding from the city, but people have still been reporting cutbacks.(New York City funds about 40% of CUNY community college costs, including collective bargaining, aka, our contract.)Have you seen evidence of cutbacks at BMCC?3206750119380Why this is happening:The TAP Gap: CUNY is losing $74 million this year because state law leaves colleges on the hook for financial aid that NYS should coverMaintenance of Effort Bill (MOE): The bill would ensure that the state’s public universities, CUNY and SUNY, receive funding to cover mandatory costs such as rent and electricity increases, negotiated salary agreements, and the difference between the highest TAP award and the actual cost of tuition. It passed both houses of the Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support and was vetoed by Cuomo. This has happened several times.What WE can do: LOCAL Actions at BMCCWho can we target? What type of Action? For each action, what can we ask our witnesses (students, faculty and staff) to do?Larger, cross campus actionsSTRIKE AUTHORIZATION CAMPAIGN NOW!Whereas: CUNY and the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) are currently facing a serious budget crisis that is hurting students and academic workers through course cancellations, over-tallied classes, heavier workloads for faculty and staff, reduced student services and resources, and the threatened termination of entire academic programs;Whereas: the CUNY Board of Trustees has used PSC bargaining demands as a pretext for approving another $200/year tuition increase for CUNY undergraduate students at the four-year colleges;?Whereas: without a credible threat of a strike, PSC lacks the power to halt the budget crisis and tuition hikes and to win sufficient funding from New York City and State to pay for our contract demands—especially our fair demand for a minimum of $7,000 per three-credit course for adjunct faculty;?Whereas: the PSC carried out a strike authorization campaign and a strike authorization vote for the last contract and did not incur Taylor Law penalties;?Therefore, be it resolved that: the BMCC chapter of the PSC urges the PSC Executive Council and Delegate Assembly to immediately: Launch and publicize a CUNY-wide strike authorization campaign, using the Proposed Strike Authorization Campaign Plan appended below as a guide;Double the number of paid part-time liaisons at each campus;?Task all PSC organizing staff and part-time liaisons with developing and supporting mobilization teams on every campus to build toward a strike;?Be it further resolved that: effective immediately, the BMCC chapter of the PSC:?Pledges available chapter resources toward a serious strike mobilization campaign on our campus, as detailed in the Proposed Strike Authorization Campaign Plan;?Commits to hiring a chapter member as a strike authorization organizer, chosen by an in-person election at the next chapter meeting, to be paid the same rate as a part-time liaison out of the chapter’s funds and who is tasked with mobilizing the chapter membership, as detailed in the Proposed Strike Authorization Campaign Plan;?Convenes a strike committee as a standing committee of the chapter, composed of the elected chapter leadership and rank-and-file PSC members from all job titles, to lead this campaign at BMCC and report on its progress at chapter meetings.?*** Proposed Strike Authorization Campaign Plan?***Strike authorization pledge: assign campus organizers to reach out to all members with strike pledge cards, affirming they will vote yes to a strike authorization vote on the current contract; that they will respect the picket line if and when we strike; and that in the event that the union’s dues checkoff rights are revoked under the Taylor Law, they will sign up for automatic monthly payment of dues directly to the PSC.Membership mobilization: develop and support teams of rank and file members on each campus to: Work with organizing staff to get strike pledge cards signed.Work with members, students, and other supporters on campus to build the campaign and organize escalating militant actions leading toward a strike.Educate members about the need for a strike and how effective strikes can win important anize picket schedules and train picket volunteers, including in how to respond to potential picket-anize drives for food, clothes, books, and other items that might be needed during strike.Begin outreach to collect information about which members will need financial assistance during a potential strike.Coordinate with the PSC central office regarding strike funds and CUNY-wide logistics.Building mobilization capacity: Double the number of part-time liaisons.Hire more organizers.Task all organizing staff and part-time liaisons with developing and supporting the mobilization teams on every campus to get pledge cards signed and build strike support.Eliminate unrealistic membership card quotas for liaisons and retroactively consider all efforts to build power toward a fair contract as legitimate paid work.Include rank-and-file “$7K or Strike” activists and organizers in every aspect of this campaign.Hire student organizers on each campus and/or pay stipends to students to build solidarity.Hire community organizers to mobilize CUNY community members including alumni, families of CUNY students, and parents of NYC public high school students.Financial resources: Pursue a constitutional amendment to raise dues to 2% for all members earning more than $70K/year.Set up an online fundraising platform for a “militancy” fund to provide support in case of a strike.Publicity: Launch a broad public campaign designed to maximize and mobilize the support of students, other unions and their members, and the wider NYC community for a possible strike.Encourage the meaningful participation in public relations work of all rank-and-file member-activists who bring skills and experience into the campaign, including with social media.Coordination: Create a CUNY-wide strike authorization coordinating committee of active rank-and-file campus leaders and organizers from every campus that reports regularly to the PSC Delegate Assembly and Executive Council but is independent of both bodies.Empower this committee to make adjustments to plans and procedures in consultation with PSC staff and in keeping with the spirit of this proposal. ................
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