CUNY Alliance's
ignorance about
contract negotiating
 
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    The CUNY Alliance Repeatedly Demonstrates its Ignorance of Contract Negotiations  
     

      The past contract negotiated by the New Caucus achieved salary increases equal to or better than that of  both the UUP and UFT.  In addition, the PSC produced a settlement with a number of ground breaking benefits, including but not limited to parental leave, a part time faculty development fund, salary increases for CLTs and Asst to HEOs who hold advanced academic degrees, health insurance for Graduate Students and CLT’s as well as a  sick leave bank. We are the first public sector union in the state to win a parental leave benefit.  No other union in the City achieved such an array of benefits for its members in the last round of negotiations.  
       
      When every other union is fighting to simply hold onto historic benefits the New Caucus leadership of the PSC has won many new benefits for its members! 

    • COMPARING NET WORTH OF SUNY AND CUNY INCREASES.  The SUNY faculty and staff represented by UUP have no step salary structure built into their trajectory of salary increases.  The CUNY faculty does.  Our salary steps are valued at 3.5% a year for members who have not hit the ceiling.  For those who have we negotiated a 3% additional increase at the top step for every level of every title in the bargaining unit. The total value of our increases plus our salary steps exceeds that achieved by the UUP. 
    • UFT WORKLOAD CONCESSIONS.  The UFT achieved an additional salary boost in recent negotiations by trading time for wage increases.  Those concessions have accumulated into an additional section of work each day, representing about a 12% increase in their workload. 
    • NO PSC-CUNY WORKLOAD CONCESSIONS.  CUNY management also demanded increases in workload and the New Caucus leadership of the PSC said no. Management also demanded the elimination of step increases and the introduction of raises at the discretion of the college president – merit pay. These and other concessionary demands made by management were successfully resisted by New Caucus leadership of the PSC.

      What Explains the Effectiveness of the New Caucus Leadership in Negotiating Contracts for its Membership? 

    • The CUNY Alliance has no understanding of how to win union demands. Equally important they show no understanding of how to resist the concessionary demands of management.  What they offer instead is the vague rhetorical bromide of effective negotiation.  What New Caucus leaders understand is that benefit advances are won through union power both inside and outside the bargaining room.  The PSC has been successful inside the bargaining room because its leadership has leveraged management with the power of the union’s membership through letter writing, electronic petitions, attendance during negotiation sessions and rallies. The CUNY Alliance disdains the importance of member power in winning union contracts. It believes that by simply showing up and making arguments management will cave.  This is a dangerous fantasy particularly during these very difficult economic times. 

    Let’s be clear, The CUNY Alliance Candidates do not have the experience, imagination or political will to negotiate an effective contract!   
     

    We have but one Real Choice-Elect Barbara Bowen and the New Caucus Slate 

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