3/15 email

Management heard us and put public health first

Dear PSC Members and Colleagues:

4,240 letters were sent this afternoon to Chancellor Matos Rodríguez and Chairperson Thompson calling on them to allow all PSC-represented employees to work remotely, starting tomorrow. The chancellor just made this announcement:

“Only CUNY essential personnel should report to work tomorrow, Monday, March 16, to their campuses and CUNY Central. Essential staff have already been designated, however, if you have any questions, please contact your supervisor.”

The announcement is a victory for everyone who lives or works in this city. CUNY management heard our message and put public health first. Now professional staff as well as all faculty will be able to protect their own health and the health of the community by staying home tomorrow. Everyone should continue to be paid as normal.

There will be more to discuss and many questions to answer, especially about work arrangements for the future. I’m sure there will still be knotty questions to resolve. But for now, we know that all of our co-workers at CUNY, those represented by other unions as well as those represented by the PSC, will be able to stay at home tomorrow, unless they have been designated “essential personnel.” The PSC can now enter into negotiations with CUNY management about the issues that need to be settled.

Thank you, PSC members! Even as we appreciate this public health victory, there is a State budget to settle in Albany. We need the same power you showed this afternoon applied to the final stages of budget negotiations. Send this message tonight; Governor Cuomo and key legislators are starting to make decisions today. Tomorrow we will be back in touch with other messages you can send to demand that Albany makes critical investments in CUNY.

But for tonight, I hope you can feel a little safer. Thank you for standing up for each other, for our students, and for public health.

In solidarity, Barbara Bowen President, PSC/CUNY