CUNY Adjunct Alert

Vol. 1, No. 8 May 1998
Proc iced by CUNY Adjuncts Unite!

33 W 42nd St .. NYC, NY 10036 room 400 212/642-2143

International Adjunct Conference A Success

Over the weekend of April 3 & 4, more than a hundred adjuncts, part-timers, non-tenure track full-timers, graduate TA’s and
sympathetic full-timers assembled at the CUNY Graduate Center for the Second Annual National Congress conference. After
beginning with a screening of Barbara Wolf’s elucidating documentary, Degrees of Shame--Part-time Faculty: Migrant Workers
of the Information Economy, the “working conference” heard an opening keynote address by Cary Nelson of the University of
Illinois/Champagne-Urbana and a closing keynote by Stanley Aronowitz of the GSUC. In between was squeezed a Plenary Panel
made up of speakers from all over the U.S. and Canada, a half-dozen workshops (ranging in scope from “Building Coalitions
& Full-timer/Part-timer alliances” and “Making Unions Responsive” to “Developing Regional Strategies” and “Making our Case
to the Public”) and several working caucuses. Among these latter was a caucus of which undertook the task of composing an
official “Conference Statement” which identifies who we are and what are our various concerns, describes conditions external
to the academy responsible for the current conditions, and proposes visions for the future and strategies for getting there. The
conference wrapped up with resolutions from the floor formally establishing the Congress (to be renamed in the near future) as
an organization, and forming an official steering committee, as well as choosing Boston as the host city for the 1999 conference.
The weekend concluded with a whiz-bang party at the Brecht Forum that went into the wee hours of the morning. The post-
conference cyber-buzz has been extremely favorable. Indeed, the conference was a great beginning.

need to collect close to 1,000 signatures from union
Deadline Alert! Good News: Adjuncts are members. This will serve as an incentive for adjuncts to join
joining the union in increasing numbers. To be the union and get involved with CAU!. If you're interested
eligible to vote in any PSC election, including the in this effort give us a call or come to the May meeting at
upcoming contract vote, however, one must be a Hunter College.

member for four months prior to the distribution of

ballots. With contract negotiations on-going,
therefore, it is possible that those adjuncts submitting
yellow cards now may be able to vote for the
upcoming contract. So keep those cards coming into
the PSC. SIGN UP TODAY!

Funding Alert! CAU! is in need of financial
assistance to help offset the costs of its organizing
efforts, especially the printing of the CUNY Adjunct

Alert. For this effort to continue we must have your
financial support. Contributions in any amount may be
made to CAU! c/o Doctoral Students’ Council, CUNY
GSUC, 25 West 43rd St, Room 400, NY, NY 10036.

Adjuncts to Hold PSC Referendum

At our April meeting, CUNY Adjuncts Unite! Voted
to hold a referendum within the PSC next year. The specific
elements and timing of the referendum will be determined
in meetings over the summer. We expect to have the

Adjuncts & Pensions
According to a PSC document:

cooperation of a number of full-timers in this effort and they All adjuncts who are not presently contributing to or
are invited to contact us about participating in the receiving a pension from a New York State or New York
development process City retirement system are eligible to join the New York

City Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS).

Under Section 219(g) of the Internal Revenue Code, as
amended by the Tax Reform Act of 1986, employees that
are deemed “active participants” in defined benefit

pension plans are not eligible fully to deduct

The kinds of issues that might be in the referendum
include: reduction in dues for part-timers, making the PSC
Vice-President for Part-time Affairs a full-time position
elected by the part-timers alone, enforcing the agency fee
for part-timers, and hiring a full-time union organizer to contributions
mobilize adjuncts.

In order to get a referendum on a PSC ballot, we will cont’d on next page
¥



Adjuncts & Pensions Cont’d
to IRA’s if their adjusted gross income exceeds certain
limits ($40,000 in the case of individuals filing joint
returns and $25,000 in the case of individual returns).
Under the IRS rulings and regulations, City employees
who are eligible to participate in the New York City
Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) are deemed to be
“active participants” in a pension plan whether or not they
actually elected to participate in TRS. Therefore the City
is obliged to check the box on each employee’s form W-2
indicating to the IRS that he/she is a participant in a
defined pension plan.
And also:
A tax deferred annuity plan is available for adjuncts who
are not presently contributing to a TDA. Available plans:
TIAA/CREF-SRA, TRS-TDA and HRC.
And finally:
All adjuncts who have been teaching ten (10) consecutive
semesters in the same department at one CUNY college
are eligible fora tuition waiver. One course of under-
graduate or graduate allowed per semester. [This includes
GSUC tuition].
The rules and criteria governing pension plans for adjuncts
are many and complicated. Interested adjuncts should
inquire at the Personnel Office on their campus, where
applications and info packets should be available. For
further information, contact Clarissa Gilbert Weiss, PSC
Director of Pension & Welfare Benefits (212/354-1252).

Come to the Next Meeting of

CUNY Adjun nite!
Thurs., May 28th 4:30pm

Hunter College
Room: TBA
Lexington Ave & 68th St

Calendar of Upcoming Events
[To be listed, info must be received by the third Friday of the month]

May 16 4pm: Board of Trustees Hearing (535 E 80th St)
May 19 6pm: Univ. Fac. Senate (GSUC--Auditorium)

May 23 4:30pm: Board of Trustees Mtg (535 E 80th St)
May 28 7:15pm: PSC Delegate Assembly (GSUC--Room 207)

Letters to the editor may cover any subject germane to CUNY adjuncts.
All letters must be typewritten, signed, and between 100-250 words.
Letters may be edited to fit the allotted space.

Letter to the Editor
[edited to fit allotted space]

I believe we should ask the Teamsters, another CUNY
bargaining agent, to organize and represent adjuncts. PSC
is a “company union” whose main goal is defense of full-
time tenured positions. Adjuncts are “out of the loop” and
ill-favored, as one tenured faculty member confided to me,
because we represent a threat to their jobs and tenure. So

why are we in their union?
}

For the past two years, I’ve attended PSC delegate meetings.
Prior to that, I participated, along with citywide adjuncts, in
meetings wit’ PSC executives to discuss upcoming contract
negotiations: We put a lot on the table: parity pay, an office
hour, impr: ved benefits, etc. Certainly we did not expect
everything ut “promises” were made.

At thy March PSC delegate’s meeting, it was reported
that the ne) otiations continue and that part of the package
would be a “lump sum payment to everyone.” Did that
mean adjuncts also, asked a full-time, tenured delegate. No,
said President Polishook. So that isn’t “everyone” is it? 500
adjuncts, dues-paying members of the PSC (out of 6000+
CUNY adjuncts) [both of those figures are considerably
higher today. -Ed.] will shortly learn that the “office hour”
has been negotiated away, “health benefits” will be cut
again. Parity pay? For adjuncts? Out of the question! So we
are “out of the loop,” so to speak, once again.

Why a “company union”? A resolution presented by
PSC executive council contained language so conciliatory
that it appeared to greet the CAP with open arms (if tenured
jobs were protected). Fortunately, several delegates were
able to revise the resolution into a unified declaration

against the hastily drawn CAP. I would hope that CAP does’
not pass. It will be devastating to students and faculty alike .

but more so to the future workforce of New York City.
With an education, some of us are still at the bottom.
Without an education, an endless pit will develop and our
fair city will be soaked in rebellion.

Let me reiterate. A promise made by PSC is a promise
broken. WE must seek another bargaining agent.

Why do I suggest the teamsters instead of DC 37?
Muscle. Just plain muscle. Teamsters, historically, have
been able to achieve for their members what others only
dream of. Perhaps a new “dress code” for adjuncts under the
Teamster label will emerge. So, adios to the PSC. And
watch it, PSC execs! Even full-time tenured faculty, I’ve
noticed, are beginning to wonder why it has taken over 2
years not to negotiate a contract!

-Sylvia Rackow

CUNY Adjuncts Unite! Contacts

Baruch Jim Feast 718-449-0677
BMCC Shirley Rausher 212-721-0099
Bronx CC Ingrid Hughes 212-254-0635
Brooklyn Vinny Tirelli 212-642-2143
CCNY Rob Wallace 212-650-8179
CSI Harry Cason 212-838-1374
Hostos Anna Lopez 212-427-3874
Hunter Mark Halling 212-254-7997
Hunter Soc. Susanna Jones 718-243-0660
John Jay Michael Seitz 212-229-9180
Kingsborough CC _ Jerry Karol 718-330-0916
LaGuardia Costas Panayotakis 718-852-2069
Lehman Kyle Cuordileone 212-491-2653
Medgar Evers Eric Lehman 212-674-1767
NYC Tech. Wendy Scribner . 212-982-0097
Queens Eric Marshall 212-642-2143
Queensborough CC Howard Pflanzer 212-496-7452
York MikeVozick 212-874-7650

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This issue of CUNY Adjunct Alert was produced by Eric Mafshall, Vinny Tirelli, and Alex Vitale. Articles and letters to the editor should be submitted via
inter-college mail to CUNY Adjunct Alert, c/o Doctoral i (gered Council, CUNY Graduate Center.


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