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THE
PATRIOT
RETURNS

 

       Vol. 49, No.1                                                        April 26, 2009

 

IT IS TIME TO END THE NEW CAUCUS REIGN OF STUPIDITY!

 

As the campaign for control of the PSC's executive council comes to an end, we've been overwhelmed by the volume of flyers, mailings, e-missives and postings on campus list servs. Some have been informational, others have been little more than partisan invective. We were struck by the clarity and cogency of one intra-campus posting at a CUNY community college, and would like share it with our readers across the university.

"The last eight years have been tough for all unions, for most colleges, for educators in general, and even the best leaders would have gotten us less than decent contracts. But a weak negotiating position was made even weaker by "leaders" who saw themselves as radical political activists, who saw the union as an instrument to promote political ideology at the expense of the financial well-being of the people they represent. I have been saying this for many years. What bothers me about the NC is not only their inefficiency as faculty advocates but also their dishonesty.

We need a fresh start!

The faculty, through the union's leadership, needs to redefine its relationship with the chancellor and the top administrators. The union leadership needs to forge a relationship with the college presidents. We need to reengage management in a firm but open manner; we need to convince them, persuade them, push them forcefully but intelligently to be courageous, pragmatic and imaginative. It may or may not work at first, but Matthew Goldstein is not going to be there forever, and the appointment of a new chancellor in coming years may present us with the opportunity for significant, positive transformations. I do not know if Fred Brodzinski is the right man for the job, but I know with absolute certainty that Barbara Bowen is not. Bowen and her people are dogmatic demagogues, intolerant fools who want to use the union to fulfill an acid-induced 1960's leftist fantasy. I cannot afford (literally) to have these people negotiate my paycheck and benefits one more time.

The prime objective of a union must be "the greatest good for the greatest number". A lot of the "gains" attained by the NC benefit mainly adjuncts or a very small number of individuals:

  • The paid office hour for adjuncts is nice extra money for them but wasteful from a productivity perspective, and it came from a diminished raise for full-timers.

  • The reassigned time for new hires sounded good, but from a practical perspective it is useless. The released time is given arbitrarily, and one-course reduction does not provide new hires with significant extra time do research. There is also an unintended consequence: new hires, who often want (and need) to make extra money, cannot do overloads while receiving released time. And again, this benefit came at expense of the general membership; associates who are getting paid less than some of the new hires have to watch the rookie teach one course less per semester (all of this being financed by money that could have gone to a higher raise for everyone). This is really bad for morale.

  • The 80% sabbaticals. This is certainly more attractive incentive to take time off to do research. But... 80% of a subsistence salary is by definition not enough to live on; the number of people who can afford to take a 20% pay cut for one year is still small. And since sabbaticals are now more expensive for the university, it is logical that they be awarded more judiciously. So the number of colleagues who benefit from this is quite, quite small. Smart move on the part of management! I am sure that specific benefit cost each member a few hundred bucks a year in potential raises.

  • The Dental Plan. Yes, other city unions have better plans than ours. Ask around. Please talk to people outside academia! And remember: the crappy plan that we have was financed by an infusion of our retroactive "raise".

  • Salary raises. A raise is more money over your base salary. A raise is money in your pocket and not retroactive going towards keeping afloat the Welfare Fund or delayed increases designated to finance paid family leave. And NO, step increases ARE NOT raises. And YES, inflation dilutes the value money; our salaries have clearly not kept up with the rate of inflation.

I am really angered by the New Caucus campaign to discredit the CUNY Alliance based on Fred Brodzinski's political affiliation. These intolerant clowns are the reason why idiots like Hannity, O'Reilly and Beck have such an easy time ridiculing the academic profession. Uniformity of thought goes against everything a university represents, and this is precisely what the New Caucus seems to be demanding from us. I think you are mistaking Brodzinski's political positions with his ability to become an able negotiator for us. Since when do we have to swear an oath of loyalty to left-wing lost causes in order to be members of the union or serve as its representatives? If Bowen wins again, do I have to be reeducated at crazy-feminist camp? Will the union protect members who do not share the official ideology of the People's Socialist Caucus (PSC)?

When things go wrong, whether it is the invasion of a country, the collapse of a corporation or the failure of educational institutions, no one seems to be responsible. Everything is blamed on the "system", the "institutional culture", the "economic cycle", the "market", "political gridlock", etc. We, the PSC CUNY members, do not have the instruments or power to make politicians in City Hall and Albany or the university administrators accountable. However, we can tell the New Caucus that we've had enough; we can deny Bowen and her troupe another opportunity to play with our financial and professional future. Let's put an end to the New Caucus reign of stupidity. Let's give the CUNY Alliance an opportunity."

A Concerned Member of the Faculty



Sharad Karkhanis, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Editor-in-Chief

 

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