Union militancy stops health-care concessions

About 500 Professional Staff Congress members and supporters held a militant picket outside the Board of Trustees meeting Sept. 26, while 75 went inside to demand the City University of New York fully fund adjunct faculty health care.

CUNY agreed to fund adjunct or part-time faculty health care in the 1980s and at that time set the amount it would contribute. About 10 years ago, it upped its contribution a bit.

Since the 1980s, however, the number of adjuncts at CUNY has grown from a few thousand to over 13,000 and the price of medical care and health insurance has risen tremendously.

For years CUNY has adamantly insisted it would not pay anything more, according to the adjuncts, who are hired because CUNY can pay them peanuts, wages far below full-time pay rates. The university said the workers should pick up the tab for increased costs, but the union refused to budge.

A militant campaign by the PSC, culminating in this rally, caused CUNY to agree to put full funding for adjunct health care in its budget request.