Vol. 15, No. 1                                                                                           March 1, 2000

(SPECIAL PSC ELECTION ISSUE NO. 2)

CRISIS IN THE UNITY CAUCUS:
DISASTER AWAITS BORIS'S SLATE
BORIS LOSES THE CONFIDENCE
AND SUPPORT OF HIS OWN CAUCUS

How could it happen? The Members of the Unity Caucus and supporters of Richard Boris and Irwin Polishook are stunned with the revelation that Boris has selected a slate which is a sure loser, the weakest ticket in town. How could Boris select the top ticket which has three of the four candidates from the smallest of the smallest (York, Bronx and Hostos) colleges in CUNY?

How could he give two of the four slots to non class room instructional staff (Carlos Hargraves, a HEO and Ruth Frisz a Counselor) when the Union is primarily the union of and for teaching faculty? If Boris had to select a HEO why would he select one who is assistant to the College President for External and Governmental Affairs raising the question of conflict of interest? If Boris had to have a counselor on the top slate, why didn't he select someone who has experience in the PSC with a reputation for organizing a CUUC constituency on campus. Why did he select a person who did not even attempt to organize a CUUC slate in the Spring 1999 Chapter election on her campus?

     These are some of the very legitimate questions being raised by a great many long-standing supporters of the Unity Caucus who are concerned that teaching faculty, particularly senior college faculty, will resent the fact that they have not received proper representation on Boris slate. But the more critical question is that of the lack of experience of the candidates on the CUUC slate. The total service on the PSC Executive Committee of all four candidates put together is no more than ten years. Boris's own four years as First Vice President have been, to say the least, stormy. Allegations of not showing up regularly at the PSC Office, extravagant lunches and dinners, more than twenty-five dollars a day for parking fees for the union-supplied car for his exclusive use, and EZ Pass charges, all charged to the PSC, became the concern among the members of Polishook's inner circle. Additionally, Boris's negligence in maintaining proper contacts on the campuses, and his constant disappearing acts to Paris, even in the middle of the semester, have become the talk of the town in the PSC office. There were also concerns about his habit of not returning members telephone calls as well as his repeated disregard for not keeping promises made to members. Polishook insiders concerned about Boris's behavior vis-a-vis the welfare of PSC members, were jolted by the results of the Spring 1999 Chapter elections. They were petrified by the loss of twelve campuses to the New caucus and understood that these losses meant a death blow to the Unity Caucus's hopes for survival. They called the meeting, and for the good of the membership, requested Polishook to ask Boris to resign. "Richard Must Go" appeared to be the solution for the rapidly deteriorating condition the PSC had found itself in. But that was not to happen. How can Polishook ask his handpicked Vice President to resign? Wouldn't that show Polishook's poor judgement in selecting Boris as his Vice President in the first place? That leads us to the issue of how Boris got to be the Vice President in the first place, a topic of our next Patriot. But before that, it would be appropriate to provide you with historical perspective of the rise and fall of Polishook's Amagic hold on the CUUC Caucus, and the slow but steady ascent of the New Caucus.

      The CCUC Caucus is primarily composed of many old-timers, long time friends and colleagues of Polishook who have been hanging around CUNY for more than thirty years. Since the mid - l960s, these members have faithfully supported the Polishook Slate out of loyalty to Dear Irwin and a great deal of disinterest in what Polishook did or didn't do for his members. All these years, Polishook supporters have been concerned only with salary increases, medical and dental benefits, and of course, pensions. Never did they question Irwin on his stand on open admissions, curriculum, admission standards or, for that matter, campus concerns about the environment or safety of the faculty. Whatever Polishook told them at those rehearsed, managed and controlled once-a-month boring Delegate Assembly meetings and whatever he fed them in his dreary, monotonous and above all, self-serving Clarion, they accepted without being curious as to the authenticity of his claims of how hard he was fighting on their behalf, and his supposed accomplishments. They listened intently and relished Irwin's boasting about his battles with the Chancellor, the Mayor, and the Governor and his exaggerated claims about his influence on the legislators. Never did they question him about whether there was any truth in his success stories, nor did they raise the issue of whether he was merely riding on the accomplishments and advances made by other loud-mouth powerful unionists who got benefits for their own members which he tagged onto and claimed as though they were his own. The end result was that Polishook was riding high without a serious challenge to his leadership. He could do no wrong. As a matter of fact, he could do anything he wanted to, including choosing an incredibly incompetent lieutenant as his Vice President, so he could steal the glamour for himself and lay the blame for any goof-offs which might occur on the Vice President.

       In the meantime, over the last decade, the City University faculty was undergoing a transformation, --- a transformation of such huge magnitude that no astute union leader could have afforded to ignore it. But Polishook did. He failed to recognize that younger faculty members were entering the CUNY system at a faster rate than ever before, older faculty members were either dying or retiring, and there was a change in the priorities of younger faculty. They needed a younger man or woman to boost their ideals, goals, and what mattered most to them -- higher wages and benefits for members in lower ranks and part-time adjuncts, recognition of the concerns for the environment on the campuses, and most of all, a socially active union. While Polishook was spending his time with the newly formed retirees chapter in New York and Florida and attending board meetings, conferences and seminars of NYSUT, AFT, UFT and NEA in New York, Albany, Washington, Miami, Seattle and Europe, the New Caucus, organized by the 1960's rebel rousers, began to make their inroads. (Incidentally, Polishook has never disclosed to the PSC membership how much additional compensation, if any, he receives as Vice President and as a board member of these various organizations. Some believe that he earns a sizable bundle for these assignments in addition to his regular salary as a full professor and a generous summer allowance.) Slowly but surely, the New Caucus started to meet in the dimly lit lofts in the Village, publishing its little newsletter, and starting to raise doubts about Polishook's so-called accomplishments. Most of all, they began to organize local chapters and they ran for chapter elections, even winning a number of them. With slick propaganda, this small group of activists, who recognized the changing character of union membership, began to make progress toward recruiting adjuncts, younger faculty and a number of feminists.. They also began to raise issues about the neglected second class faculty of CUNY, the adjuncts and the part-timers who were increasing in numbers.

      The New Caucus made a big leap forward in 1996 by giving the first formidable challenge to Polishook's leadership by running a full slate against Polishook and his cronies. Although they did not succeed in winning the election, their challenge to Polishook's leadership was significant because it made Polishook vulnerable. It also made the New Caucus known to the entire university community, and provided a strong hope for the sizable number of a restless faculty who wanted an alternative to Polishook's future leadership.

      Polishook was very much afraid that he was going to be defeated in this election. However, he won by a moderate margin --- thanks to the Patriot Returns which, at the last moment, appeared on the campuses like a lightening rod and destroyed the credibility of Steve London, the New Caucus's lead candidate against Polishook.

Because of the enormous struggle the CUUC had to go through for the victory in 1996 election, Polishook should have detected the approaching storm. But no, he fell into a false sense of confidence and comfort in his leadership, and relaxed with his Vice President Boris, an obscure assistant professor who took twenty-two long years to get promoted to Associate Professorship at York with no plans whatsoever for building alliances with the new and younger faculty. In the 1999 Chapter elections each and every campus gave thumbs down to Polishook's Unity Caucus. What should Polishook, the Woody Allen of the PSC, a wiry, spectacled man with a nerdy look reminiscent of the Jeopardy characters on the television show, do now? He was losing confidence in himself, among his supporters, and in the CUNY community. Should he stand for reelection in the year 2000 with that "Naughty Boy Richard" as his V.P.? Should he dump that "Naughty, Lazy Boy Richard" and run with someone else as his Vice President? Or, should he say "The hell with it all. I had a good time up until now. Let me run for cover and retire at the end of the term and carry on with my life without 'Lazy Boy Richard's' mischief?" Polishook got out of the quandary and chose the last option, i.e., not to seek reelection and lose, thus guaranteeing his place in the history of the PSC as the last CUUC President to have won the election.

It is now left to the labor historians to comment upon Polishook's uncertain legacy. In the meantime, however, Polishook Ahas agreed to work with union leaders as an advisor on legislation and contract negotiations. He will also serve as a liaison between the PSC and other local and national unions. We wonder if this is going to be a free and voluntary dispensation of wisdom or it has a huge price tag attached to it. If it has a price tag, the membership has a right to know what it is.

      As for Boris and his slate, knowing that it is destined for a crushing defeat, Polishook appears to have washed his hands of giving them any of his advice, thus allowing Boris to decide his own fate. In a sense, one wonders if Polishook even wants Boris to win this election. One can also detect a sense of gloom and doom in the long established CUUC Caucus, with supporters sitting on the sidelines, painfully watching its destruction by Boris. Like Polishook, other CUUC old guards are exiting graciously from involvement with Boris. For example, one of the top CUUC officers has made it clear that he will not seek another term and will not "take an active role in the campaign for the PSC general election." He writes, "While I have several reasons for this decision, a major factor is that our initiatives in energizing the caucus and establishing organizations on each campus appear to have been repudiated." Another strong CUUC supporter has also informed the leadership that he too will not be involved in the coming campaign and in his December 21 letter expressed his strongest opposition to the direction the Caucus has taken under Boris's leadership. He wrote, "For practical purposes, the Unity Caucus structure has ceased to exist, and the Unity Constitution has become meaningless." There are more resignations in the offing. Supporters of the CUUC Caucus are jumping off Richard's ship in droves before it sinks. Indeed, Boris is in trouble, and he has no one to blame but himself.

PS: Make a few copies and share the joy of reading the Patriot Returns with your colleagues at your college and throughout CUNY

Sharad Karkhanis, Ph.D., Editor:
Kingsborough Community College,
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11229 (718-368-5149)

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