The Professional Staff Congress announced yesterday that an overwhelming 90% of its members voted to ratify the union’s new contract with CUNY. The nearly five-year deal covers 30,000 full- and part-time faculty and professional staff and runs retroactively from March 1, 2023, through Nov. 30, 2027. It provides across-the-board wage increases of 13.37% across the life of the contract and a lump-sum ratification bonus of up to $3,000. It was approved by the CUNY Board of Trustees on Dec. 16.
The following is a statement by CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez:
“Every day our talented faculty and staff members put CUNY’s mission — to provide an exceptional public higher education to anyone who seeks one — into action. This contract reflects the University’s commitment to these hardworking and dedicated individuals and will ultimately benefit CUNY’s students.
“The new contract also includes title-specific lump sums and equity raises, a promotional track for full-time lecturers, an improved research award program and reassigned time pilot in support of CUNY’s research mission, and the continuation of a multi-year appointment pilot program for teaching adjuncts.
“In recognition of the critical role they play at CUNY, teaching adjuncts will also receive a minimum 29.1% pay increase to $7,100 per three-credit class at the start of the 2027 Summer Session. In addition, teaching adjuncts will continue to receive health insurance, a longstanding CUNY benefit that many adjuncts in higher education typically don’t receive.
“We are especially proud to expand opportunities for professional advancement and the pursuit of scholarship, as well as a range of financial benefits that recognize factors like increased professional responsibilities, credentials and length of service.
“The paid parental leave program was expanded from eight to 12 weeks and will now also include foster parents, and a $4 million additional annual contribution to the PSC-CUNY Welfare Fund will sustain and improve the robust supplemental benefits that our employees receive.
“I am grateful to Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams for their leadership and support that helped us reach this new contact. I am also thankful to PSC President Davis and his team for engaging in the good-faith negotiations that are so important to the success of this process. Finally, I would like to thank the members of the University leadership team for working so diligently throughout this process. Together, we will continue to support our faculty and staff so that we may lift our students, the University and, ultimately, New York.”
– Story courtesy of CUNY Media Relations
