For CSEW members (this isn't a public statement or article): brief report and
comments on some recent developments at CUNY
Postings to CUNY Contingents Unite that I have recently forwarded to this CSEW
list have reported on layoffs at CUNY and some of our activity and responses to
this urgent situation. In this brief report to CSEW members, I would like to
note a few things about the "action" called by "Rank and File Action." "RAFA"
is the most recent name of the grouping created by what used to be called CUNY
Struggle -- that is, the crew that rammed through ban on leftist literature at
the 7K conference last year. (CUNY Struggle, in turn, grew out of a circle
initiated by one Cindy G., who, oddly, changed its name over and over before
becoming a practitioner of "Maya abdominal" and "cranial sacral" therapy. I kid
you not.)
On RAFA's formation, and to get a flavor of its milieu and outlook, see this
item, which begins: "In a broad rollout of updated handles across social
media":
http://vanguard.blog.brooklyn.edu/2020/03/04/7k-or-strike-becomes-rank-and-file-action/
).
RAFA has repeatedly spoken in the name of the "rank and file" of the CUNY
workforce and faculty/staff union. It has established a mutual admiration
society with Left Voice. Recently, Left Voice "reported" that RAFA's "action"
of not submitting grades until they are due meant (in the words of the 19 May
article by James Dennis Hoff): "CUNY Faculty Of Verge of Wildcat Strike." In
other articles too, it repeatedly depicts RAFA as "the rank and file" of the
union. Similar claims have found their way into some mainstream media, clearly
pushed by RAFA, which has a sophisticated media operation. This is really
dishonest. The results of its "action" illustrate this rather vividly. (See
below.)
In contrast, we have repeatedly called for and organized in favor of the union
itself, through its bodies elected by the membership as a whole, to
systematically and seriously prepare and organize genuine job action to shut
the university down, in defense of the jobs and rights of those who work and
study there. With mass layoffs at John Jay, and the threat of them -- and deep
cuts -- throughout CUNY, this is urgent. At the most recent Delegate Assebmly
(May 21), PSC president claimed the union leadership is preparing plans for
job actions by the membership if layoffs and cuts go forward. At this point no
further details have been presented.
As for RAFA: having held an online meeting in mid-May, called by and
representing itself, RAFA launched its "action" of calling on people to not
submit grades until the deadline for doing so (which is today, May 28). It
aimed to get 70% of the faculty to sign its "pledge" to withhold grades until
the deadline. In deliberately tricky language, the pledge also said that if 70%
of the faculty signed the pledge, then "we" (i.e., RAFA) would decree a grade
strike continuing after the deadline for turning in the grades.
Late last night, RAFA issued the statement reproduced below. It states that 800
faculty members (full- and "part"-time) had signed its pledge. The most recent
figures I have found for the numbers of CUNY faculty are those from 2017:
15,000 adjuncts and 7,500 tenured/tenure-track, totaling 22,500. 800 is about
3.5% of that number. 3.5 is 5% of 70.
Just by way of contrast, in May 2016 the union held a strike authorization
vote. Well over 10,000 union members voted. 92% of those voted "yes." While the
union bureaucracy saw this as just a pressure tactic, we strongly and
vociferously urged everyone to vote "yes" and for a strike committee to be
elected to actually prepare a strike. At the mass meeting at Cooper Union held
to prepare the vote, I put forward a motion for this. (The chair ignored it.)
And CUNY Struggle? Petulantly playing with sabotaging the strike authorization
vote to supposedly punish the union leadership (actually helping management and
the state), they repeatedly refused to call for voting "yes," and put out its
own counterposed adjunct "pledge." (At virtually the last minute, faced with
our relentless exposure of their betrayal, they went along with a motion for
voting "yes" that we put forward at a student/faculty assembly held at the Grad
Center.)
The "RAFA pledge" was not the same as what CS did in trying to undercut the
2016 strike authorization vote. But its formulation, procedure and presentation
were cynical, unprincipled and, in Melissa's words, "shady" as they tried to
"play people." As members of CUNY Contingents Unite, CSEW comrades at CUNY have
not criticized the pledge explicitly in public (and have not submitted grades),
but have spoken repeatedly in union meetings and at the May 11 Delegate
Assembly for the union to call genuine job action and prepare to shut CUNY
down. When Lehman adjunct Mark Kagan presented a resolution to the union
Delegate Assembly through which the union itself would democratically decide to
organize the withholding of grades in a way that would highlight collective
protest, we critically supported this (including with a motion at the Hunter
union town hall, as previously reported), while noting its shortcomings. And we
put forward one of our own on the union together with students and NYC workers
and oppressed taking real steps for action to shut things down.
I just wanted to go through some of this for comrades' information.
________________________________
From: Rank and File <rafa.cuny@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2020 10:40 PM
To: s_an@xxxxxxx <s_an@xxxxxxx>
Subject: Grade Pledge Update and Next Steps
RAFA continues the fight for a fully funded CUNY.
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Dear Fellow PSC Members,
We want to thank everyone who signed our grade
pledge<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffacebook.us19.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3D8096415b3a9fcbc32c7913392%26id%3D3313c8d4a5%26e%3Ddcea4a7bfc&data=02%7C01%7C%7C3f0d5f411e4746ff63bb08d802b07c24%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637262304299433318&sdata=p3MD6MY945q9dC0brC5v2NYDDPhoWdhZmF%2BPlmKpKn4%3D&reserved=0>
and everyone who has supported our ongoing struggle to defend jobs at CUNY. In
a little more than one week, almost 800 faculty signed onto our pledge to
withhold grades and many more are signing every hour. Although this is far less
than the 70 percent of CUNY faculty needed to take our pledge to withhold
grades to the next level, this is nonetheless an incredible and unprecedented
accomplishment for our union and our university. At this point we are not
encouraging faculty to withhold their grades beyond the regular deadline (May
28 for most colleges).
Thanks to your courage and commitment we have sent a powerful
message<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffacebook.us19.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3D8096415b3a9fcbc32c7913392%26id%3D32807be43e%26e%3Ddcea4a7bfc&data=02%7C01%7C%7C3f0d5f411e4746ff63bb08d802b07c24%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637262304299443312&sdata=PP%2BKYETBGwgzCERN0Fbx1hybWO2LXLFsDf0Z9RPn0rE%3D&reserved=0>
to New York State politicians, CUNY administration, and PSC leadership: We
will not sit idly by while our jobs and our university are destroyed. We have
shown that many of us are willing to take militant action, up to and including
a strike, to win our demands, while still protecting our
students<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffacebook.us19.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3D8096415b3a9fcbc32c7913392%26id%3Dc3cb7b58a5%26e%3Ddcea4a7bfc&data=02%7C01%7C%7C3f0d5f411e4746ff63bb08d802b07c24%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637262304299443312&sdata=rWPSev8tzl%2FYsFl7VenbY%2BLcQQhpBO1BQqYI6mQBWlo%3D&reserved=0>.
Your swift action has helped push back against preemptive adjunct layoffs and
tuition hikes and has helped to build a movement toward a freer, more equitable
university which values the labor of all CUNY workers. With this pledge we have
demonstrated that our power is in our labor and we look forward to working with
all of you to defeat austerity attacks against the CUNY community and to build
a better university for our students.
As the reappointment deadline approaches, RAFA expects that many more adjuncts
will be laid off and we are committed to continuing to fight to keep every CUNY
worker's job. Further, we are committed to the goal of a free and open CUNY and
will continue to fight against tuition hikes and increased student fees at
every turn. The federal government, the state, and the city have plenty of
money to support and expand CUNY during this pandemic. We ask you to continue
to help us build a movement that will wrest it from their unwilling hands.
Toward that end, RAFA is calling an emergency Town Hall Meeting on Thursday,
June 4 from 5 - 7pm. In that call we will discuss and collectively strategize
how to proceed with our struggle and how to continue to move the union toward
more militant actions. You can RSVP
here<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffacebook.us19.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3D8096415b3a9fcbc32c7913392%26id%3Df234be5780%26e%3Ddcea4a7bfc&data=02%7C01%7C%7C3f0d5f411e4746ff63bb08d802b07c24%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637262304299443312&sdata=65G0KFkCcBQ4RLRhKgUzfQToFRWjkiDbKPWU4Lx99mw%3D&reserved=0>.
Additionally, we are asking that adjuncts who are given non-reappointment
letters share them on social media using the hashtag #FightBackTogether in a
show of solidarity.
Once again, we want to thank you and ask you to join in these upcoming actions
and other events throughout the summer. For those who signed the RAFA pledge,
we cherish your bold gesture in support of the most vulnerable members of the
PSC. We look forward to building with you.
Rank and File Action
P.S. Wondering when to submit your grades? We can't encourage you to withhold
past the deadline since we don't have 70% of the faculty behind this collective
action, but you can certainly wait until the final hour before the deadline to
submit your grades.
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