Public Employee Press

CUNY workers hit cuts, tuition hike

DC 37 joined with faculty and students at the City University of New York to hold hearings on proposed state and city budget cuts that would raise tuition and force employees to do more with less.

Gov. David Paterson’s proposed cuts of $68 million in state aid to CUNY would hike tuition by 15 percent, or $600 a year, at senior colleges and reduce the state’s Tuition Assistance Program, while Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg aims to cut $22 million from CUNY’s community colleges.

“These plans would adversely affect more than 10,000 unionized employees who live in the community and provide critical support services,” said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. Members of locals 375, 384, 924, 1087, 1597, 1797, 2054 and 2627 work at CUNY. The hearings at Brooklyn College Feb. 26, the College of Staten Island March 12 and Queens College March 19 were organized by DC 37, the Professional Staff Congress, which represents faculty, the CUNY Student Senate and the New York Public Interest Research Group.

“DC 37 members process student registrations and financial aid applications, handle administrative paperwork for faculty and managers, operate heating and ventilation systems and keep classrooms and offices clean,” said Tracey Madkins, vice president of Local 384. “Tuition hikes would prevent thousands of students with limited financial resource fromacquiring a quality college education.”

“We make it possible for faculty to spends more time teaching, students to have more learning opportunities, and administrators to perform their jobs in a professional manner,” said Local 2054 member Linda Bowman. “Higher tuitions and less financial aid will make it harder to get the college education that is so critical to achieving the middle-class dream and competing in the global economy.”

Local 924 Laborer Joseph Perry explained that cuts in the blue-collar workforce could endanger the safety, health and cleanliness of CUNY facilities. Members who want to participate in additional hearings scheduled for April and May should contact their local or division.

“Fairer solutions to the budget problem,” said Roberts, “are enacting a millionaire’s tax and using the rainy day fund as well as the Obama stimulus package. We cannot let the governor and the mayor balance their budgets on the backs of the most vulnerable.”

—Diane S. Williams