THE NEW CAUCUS
of PSC-CUNY

"CUNY Alliance" is Missing in Action
Empty Seats/Empty Promises
 

How can you trust the "CUNY Alliance" to run the union when they have been missing in action? 

Our opponents are long on promises; short on work.  A few have held PSC office (only 7 out of 27 according to their bios); most have zero to minimal experience in the life of the union  -- missing in action at chapter meetings, in the contract campaign, on PSC-CUNY committees, and in lobbying for increased CUNY budgets.

What's most dismaying, however, is that the "missing in action" tag sticks to two of the leading members of the "CUNY Alliance" slate who are members of the Delegate Assembly, the highest policy -making body of the PSC.  It is here that as delegates they could have played a constructive role in engaging and shaping union policy, raising questions and presenting alternatives. The other two leading members of the slate have little or no union involvement over the last 15 years – the period when CUNY and unions have been under attack.

• Rina Yarmish, who heads their slate, has missed the last 18 D.A. meetings.  From September 2002 to the present, she has attended only five of thirty-six meetings.
• Howard Ross, running for Treasurer, missed more than half of the D.A. meetings from September 2002  to April 2005 (when his tenure on the D.A. ended).
• Lilia Melani, 1^st VP candidate, did not attend chapter meetings at her campus from 1993 to 1999, ran for Brooklyn College PSC chapter office in 1999 and lost, and has not been sighted at a chapter meeting or other union function since.
• Mona Fabricant, Secretary candidate, has neither run for nor held union office at any level, and she has been absent from any CUNY-wide PSC activity.

"CUNY Alliance" leaders’ chronic absenteeism and unwillingness to participate in the deliberations of the D.A. is a violation of their duty to represent the membership who elected them.  Their absence from the campaign to win a fair contract, from PSC lobbying for better CUNY budgets, or from speaking out publicly for our students and public higher education demonstrates their lack of commitment.

If they have shirked their duty and demonstrated a lack of commitment, how can you trust them now?

You can see our election slate and get more information about the New Caucus by clicking here.   If you did not receive previous e-newsletters, you can read them by clicking here.  If you did not receive our first piece of print literature in your campus mailbox, you can read it here.

Email: campaign@newcaucus.org
Website:  www.newcaucus.org