November 14, 1986

Dear CUNY Part-Timer:

You've probably heard of the Part-Timers Union (PTU) by now. We're an organization of part-time
instructional and research staff from all the CUNY colleges, and our goal is to improve the working conditions of
part-timers by forming a new union that has our rights as its first priority.

To form this union, we've been asking you to sign union authorization cards. These cards do not commit
you to membership in the union; they indicate that you want a chance to choose between the Professional Staff
Congress (PSC), which is the current union, and the PTU. If one third of all part-timers sign the cards, there will be
an election between these two unions. With ten days to 80, we still need a few hundred cards. You can make the
difference! If you want a choice, sign a card now and send it in before November 25! If we don't have an election
now, we'll have to endure three more years of do-nothing representation before we can try again.

Recently, you may have received a letter from the PSC that makes certain misleading claims. Let's set the
record straight.

The PSC claim that Our "poor working conditions" are due to reductions in student enrollment and
federal aid -- in other words, they say our problems are beyond their control.

The PTU responds: It's a union's job to fight for the best gains it can, even under difficult
circumstances. We contend that the PSC have not fulfilled their obligation to
bargain in good faith for part-timers. Other New York City unions (DC-37 and
District 1199, for example), during the same hard times, have won full and
pro-rated benefits for their part-time members. And now, with huge state
budget surpluses, the PSC have no excuse for neglecting our interests. The
question you should ask yourself is, Have the PSC really done as much as they

could have?

The PSC claim that Part-timers now receive health insurance, tuition waivers, and wages that exceed
the average rate nationally.

The PTU responds: Health insurance and tuition waivers only became available during the most

recent contract. The requirements for these benefits are so stringent that very
few of us qualify. And besides, what were the PSC doing for the last seventeen
years? It seems that the PSC only bargained for these benefits when they
realized that the PTU was organizing to challenge them.

As for pay, part-timers make a fraction of a full-timer's Salary, even though
many of us carry the same course load. The PSC's “hard-fought” raises have
not even kept up with the rise in the cost of living.

The PSC claim that Part-timers are better served by an established union with a proven track record.

The PTU responds: There's not much of a track record. Seventeen years of PSC representation have
achieved neither a living wage for part-timers nor any job security -- the two
sine qua nons of any respectable union.

Part-timers have tried for years to work for change within the PSC, but we've been rebuffed at every turn.
The issue, we believe, is simple: the PSC have had more than enough time to prove that they can adequately
represent part-timers. Now the choice is yours : three more years of the same excuses, or a chance for change with
the PTU?

PTU (Part-Time Instructional and Research Staff Union)
P.O. Box 2314, New York, N.Y. 10009 (212) 254-1094


GET MORE INFORMATION FROM SOMEONE ON YOUR CAMPUS...

Call any of the following people:

Staten Island Wendy Hoefler (718) 448-2549 Queens Sally O'Driscoll (212) 254-1094
City College Jim Ciment (212) 677-9147 Grad. Center Jeff Gerson (718) 763-0343
N.Y.C. Tech Rocco Serini (718) 624-5000 Brooklyn Ron Lehrer (718) 377-0631
Medgar Evers Harry McArdle (516) 744-5332 BMCC Lorraine Riordan (212) 995-0008
Bronx C.C. Pam Ansaldi (212) 543-2978 York Paul Wagner (718) 651-7047
Lehman mies eS a John Jay Michael Seitz (212) 645-7850
LaGuardia Jim McCabe (718) 768-1038 Baruch Ron Hayduk (212) 254-2258

** PLEASE ENCLOSE A CONTRIBUTION WITH YOUR CARD * *

*eKK KKK KK KKK KK KKK KK EEE EK KR KKK KK KK KR KOK KOK KK OK KK

PART-TIME INSTRUCTIONAL AND RESEARCH STAFF UNION
P.O. Box 2314, New York, N.Y. 10009
Application for Membership and Union Authorization

PE cag le ECA a ae aoe CME cab Cy IG al
lh) BY eg a CSOT IS Rae RPT: ARSE CIE TEPER 50) Uj 8) GEM MM nRanGaMtG MTU un Le dart
Oe a ee, 7A ee Me PHONE as oi a a
SE aa e Bee re Re COB TTT oa te
DEPT COLLEGE

' designate the Part-Time Instructional and Research Staff Union to act for me as a collective
bargaining agent in all matters pertaining to conditions and terms of employment. I hereby
pledge to abide by the constitutionof the Part-Time Instructional and Research Staff Union.

SIGNED DATE