CUNY/PSC Contract Faces Opposition from Adjuncts

By Nate Izzo

The following article was featured in the December 2019 edition of The Campus.

In late October, after a long battle, theProfessional Staff Congress (PSC) reached a tentative agreement on a contractwith CUNY meant to improve conditions for faculty. The PSC is a union thatrepresents over 30,000 CUNY staff members, and it is their mission to enhancethe CUNY system by protecting the rights of its members. The PSC views this newcontract as a major step towards achieving that mission.

The contract would raise salaries across theboard, especially for starting adjuncts, whose salaries would increase by 71%.These raises would be retroactive, giving back-pay to eligible faculty members.The contract would also restructure hours so that professors can spend moretime directly interacting with, and helping, their students. In an article onthe CUNY website, PSC president Barbara Bowen said, “The proposed agreementrepresents a turning point in the history of CUNY’s treatment of contingentfaculty. It is a principled and imaginative contract that constitutes a victoryfor every member of the union—and for CUNY students.”

The response to the contract has been largelypositive, especially considering the long negotiations it took to get this far.The delegate assembly already voted on November 7th to move the contract to aratification vote, which closes on November 26th. However, members of PSC and7k, or Strike, a rank-and-file collective of professors, have voiced concernsabout the contract. One of the people apprehensive about the new plan includePamela Stemberg, vice-chair of the City College chapter of PSC.

The overarching issue with this contract isits myopic treatment of the issues that professors, especially adjuncts, haveto face. Since CUNY is still underfunded, those raises will come with cuts toprograms and the elimination of step increases for adjuncts. Stemberg believesthat this exchange will be a net loss for staff: “There’s going to be differentchallenges, and those challenges may be even more difficult than the challengeswe’re facing now,” she said, “I respect it very much, but I think that it’sshort-sighted to take the money and run, and to not understand the effect itwill have on the system.”

Stemberg’s ideal contract would feature aregularized path for adjuncts to become full-time professors; “[Being an adjunct]is the most dead-end of dead-end jobs. Even McDonalds has a path to full time.Really,” she commented, “Until we have that, there’s nothing to be said. Thesystem is not right for the students.” Establishing the CUNY employment systemby basing it on systems in California and Vancouver would ultimately be betterprotection for faculty than a raise.

Why should CUNY students care how much theirteachers make? Possibly because how adjuncts are treated by the school affectshow well they can do their jobs. “Your view of me as ‘less than’ has value inthis system,” Stemberg pointed out, “You can pay me as less because everybodysees me as less.” If adjuncts are viewed as having value and paid accordingly,they will get more time to engage with students and help them succeed.

Until a system is set in place that protectsall professors, especially part-timers, the system will remain fundamentallybroken. Better funding for CUNY and better pay for professors are essential fortheir livelihood and the success of the students attending. “And really, untilwe’re there, what are we going to do?” Stemberg asks. “Fight.”