THE PSC IS HAVING UNION-
WIDE ELECTIONS IN APRIL

RE-ELECT THE NEW CAUCUS 

WHO WE ARE 

The New Caucus is the leadership caucus of the Professional Staff Congress (PSC), the faculty and staff union at the City University of New York.  Union caucuses are like political parties within the union.  The New Caucus nominates candidates for union offices and develops a progressive vision for the union and CUNY that unites all its candidates and members.  The New Caucus is running a full slate of candidates in elections for union leadership in April. 

Barbara Bowen, President, and Steve London, First Vice President, were first elected on the New Caucus slate in 2000 and have been re-elected twice.  Mike Fabricant, Treasurer and Arthurine DeSola, Secretary, were elected in 2006.  The current 27-member Executive Council, the HEO and CLT cross-campus leadership and most campus-based chapter's Executive Committees were elected with New Caucus support. 

The New Caucus began as a reform caucus in the 1990s by taking up the fight for academic unionism, union democracy within the PSC, and building a stronger CUNY with better budgets and expanded access for students.  New Caucus leaders quickly won chapter elections and built an opposition movement to the old leadership of the PSC.  In the 1990s the old PSC leadership negotiated contracts with a dramatic erosion of salaries as well as making concessions which whittled away at our professional working conditions.  They failed to organize and mobilize members to gain support for CUNY and our students. 

NEW CAUCUS IN ACTION – CONTINUED LEADERSHIP FROM 2000 TO THE PRESENT: 

By building union power and working with diverse allies, we have done the following: 

• Demonstrated the good judgment necessary to lead one of the largest higher education unions in the country (e.g. settling the current contract before the economic crisis hit with full force and Albany and City Hall started cutting the CUNY budget}.
• Negotiated innovative contracts including provisions like untenured faculty released time, 80% sabbaticals, paid adjunct office hour and paid parental leave.
• Supported faculty governance, opposed corporatization of CUNY, defended academic freedom.
• Promoted equity within CUNY's workforce and promoted a social justice agenda.
• Enhanced the political power of the PSC and fought for better CUNY budgets in Albany and at City Hall.
• Projected PSC leadership nationally on higher education issues.
• Vigorously enforced our contractual rights.
• Organized new members, greatly expanding the size of our union's membership.
• Invigorated member participation at all levels of the union.
   

THE NEW CAUCUS STANDS FOR DEMOCRATIC UNIONISM AND SOCIAL UNIONISM 

By mobilizing PSC members in contract campaigns and increasing pressure on management, we have delivered on bread and butter issues. We understand that improvement of our working conditions is linked to an activist union movement that also promotes union democracy and social justice. By mobilizing our members and working closely with other unions around larger common interests, New Caucus PSC leadership has gained growing support for our goals, CUNY and our students. 

We ask for your support and urge you to re-elect New Caucus leadership in April.

Click here to find out more about more about what we have done and here for our home page.

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