Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Update/Action Alert on Anti-Boycott Legislation in NY State Assembly

Action Alert - 2/25/14

Update on Anti-Boycott Legislation in NY State Assembly
We Need to Continue to Make Our Voices Heard!

On February 3, NY State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was forced to withdraw a draconian bill that would have undermined academic freedom and free speech. His bill was designed to punish any state-funded college or university in NY that had used any of that money on activities related to groups that support boycotts of Israel. But enough pressure was put on Speaker Silver to force his withdrawal of that bill. This was a tremendous victory and a testament to the power of unified action!

But - and this is critically important - our work to defeat this legislation is not over. Speaker Silver quickly issued a revised version of his bill, titled A. 8392A.  There is one difference between this and the earlier version: Previously a college could have lost its entire state funding for a year if they had used any of their state funding on groups that support boycotts of Israel. In the new version, the college would only lose the amount of money actually spent on such activities. (The link to the full text is here: http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld=&bn=A08392&term=&Summary=Y&Text=Y. )

The Ad Hoc Group In Support of Academic Freedom and the First Amendment is in full gear to defeat this version of the bill! Any attempt to withhold any amount of state funding is a direct assault on our constitutionally protected right to free speech. There is no "good version" of a bill that at its core is designed to punish acts of academic freedom or free speech. There is no way to work out a compromise or to fine tune this legislation to make it less offensive. The only way out of this is to defeat the legislation!

The NY State Legislature is about to go into intensive budget debate. While most of their attention and energies will be focused on the budget we cannot let them forget about the dangers of this anti-boycott legislation. We are keeping track of the bill and will alert you as soon as we hear about a date for a vote in any Assembly committees, but we cannot wait until then to take action...now is the time to once again send a clear, strong message of opposition to this legislation.

Contact Assembly Speaker Silver
 Call, email fax or use any other method to contact Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver...District Office phone 212-312-1420, Albany Office phone 518-455-3791, to send an email click here.

Contact the Higher Education Committee of the NY State Assembly
 Contact as many of the other members of the Higher Education Committee as you can. Click here for the list of committee members, which includes links to each of their websites.
 Contact the chair of the Higher Education Committee, Deborah Glick. To send an email to her office, just click here. Her office numbers are Albany Office phone 518-455-4841, District Office phone 212-674-5153.

Help spread the word
 Share this message as widely and as quickly as you can.
 Get this information to people throughout NY State...it is important that this be a state-wide effort.
 Send a letter to the editor to express your opposition to this legislation.

Lots of important information about our fight here in NY and what's happening in other states can be found by clicking here.

Ad Hoc Group In Support of Academic Freedom and the First Amendment
Members include the Center for Constitutional Rights, Palestine Solidarity Legal Support, the National Lawyers Guild, the Professional Staff Congress (PSC – CUNY faculty and staff union), Jewish Voice for Peace, Jews Say No!, the American Studies Association and others. In addition, the Ads Hoc Group works closely with NYSUT (NY State United Teachers), AAUP, NY Civil Liberties Union, and many individuals.

Media Contacts: 
Donna Nevel - denevel@gmail.com, 917-570-4371

Leslie Cagan  -  347-581-1782

Thursday, February 20, 2014

City Council Committee on Higher Ed. to Hold Pathways Hearing February 25th

Dear Colleague:
The terrain is shifting on Pathways. The union’s sustained fight has begun to produce results. Two months ago, an arbitrator concluded that the union contract does cover faculty rights on curriculum, and ruled that the PSC’s grievance on Pathways must be heard. Two weeks ago, CUNY central administration announced the first significant changes to Pathways: the cap on course hours in the Common Core has been lifted, and some role is now being given to elected faculty bodies.  
Now the New York City Council has convened a public hearing to gather testimony on Pathways: the hearing is next Tuesday, February 25, between 10:00 and 2:30. Don’t miss the chance to speak out about how Pathways has affected CUNY students; contact Sue DelGiorno (sdelgiorno@pscmail.org) at the PSC office for assistance in signing up to speak or send in testimony.  
The cracks in CUNY’s Pathways armor are the result of three years of determined resistance, especially the 92% vote of No Confidence in the referendum among full-time faculty last May. (That vote continues to resonate; it was referenced as recently as today’s New York Times article on CUNY’s incoming chancellor.) The opposition to Pathways has been so clearly and forcefully stated that the CUNY administration is being forced to respond.  
In the first of the recent victories, the December 12 arbitrator's ruling, the issue was whether the union contract allows the PSC to file a grievance against Pathways. The CUNY administration asked the arbitrator to dismiss the grievance altogether, arguing that the faculty role in governance or curriculum issues does not constitute a “term or condition of employment,” and is therefore not subject to the contract or its grievance procedure.  
The arbitrator disagreed. “By their very nature, faculty duties and responsibilities with respect to curriculum development and implementation, as well as issues of academic freedom, are important elements of faculty terms and conditions of employment at an institution of higher education,” she concluded.  The ruling was procedural, and did not address the merits of the union's case. But it means that the union's arguments can now be heard—something CUNY management tried to prevent.  
The second victory was the change in the Pathways structure announced in a February 3 memo from Interim Chancellor William Kelly to CUNY college presidents and deans. There will no longer be a three-hour limit on Pathways courses (though the three-credit limit will remain). Kelly also said that henceforth, faculty on the Pathways Common Core Course Review Committee “will be chosen through college governance processes.” The committee cannot change Pathways rules, but its restructuring marks the first time that the CUNY administration has assigned any decision-making on Pathways to an elected faculty body. 
We now have some new openings on Pathways, and next Tuesday's City Council hearing is an important opportunity. The hearing represents the first time a legislative body with oversight responsibilities for CUNY has held a public meeting on the Pathways curriculum. The hearing is your chance to speak to elected officials, who will be there specifically to hear what Pathways means for CUNY students.  CUNY central administration will also be there, and will present its point of view. We need to be there in numbers to share our experience as the faculty and staff who work with CUNY students every day.   
The City Council Committee on Higher Education hearing on Pathways is Tuesday, February 25 between 10:00 and 2:30.  If you can't testify, but can attend all or part of the hearing, please come; your presence will send an important message. Contact Sue DelGiorno (sdelgiorno@pscmail.org) to let us know you will be there or would like to testify.  Further details will be forwarded to you in the next few days. 
The outcome of the Pathways fight depends on the conversion of our individual or local rejection of Pathways into a collective public struggle. Next Tuesday's City Council hearing is an opportunity to do exactly that.  Please join me in continuing the fight. 
In solidarity,
Barbara Bowen
President, PSC

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Special Meeting of the PSC Chapter at Brooklyn College on Thursday Feb. 27th 12:30-2 in 222 Whitehead.

Dear Colleagues,

We will be holding a special meeting of the PSC Chapter at Brooklyn College on Thursday Feb. 27th 12:30-2 in 222 Whitehead. 

As most of you know, CUNY Central has capitulated to important faculty demands regarding Pathways, which is a major victory for the Faculty and ultimately the students at CUNY. We still face several struggles, however, here at Brooklyn College. The administration continues to try to force us into the Pathways framework, even as we begin a faculty-lead review of general education. It is imperative that the faculty speak in a clear voice to the Brooklyn College and CUNY administrations that we will not tolerate administrative interference in the curriculum. Therefore, we intend to bring one or more resolutions to the Stated Meeting of the Faculty in April regarding these issues. The Stated Meeting of the faculty is the ultimate voice of the faculty in the governance of the faculty, eclipsing even Faculty Council. 

At our next meeting we will be discussing the possible elements of a resolution to come before the Stated Meeting and we invite you to join us in that process. Among the topics we will discuss are demands to reinstate the previous general education curriculum including the Core, foreign language, and speech requirements; calls for the President and Provost to publicly express support for and the intent to implement any new General Education requirements that come from the current faculty driven review process, regardless of their adherence to Pathways; and a vote of “no confidence” in the CUNY Board of Trustees. This is by no means an exhaustive list of possible resolutions. 

With CUNY backpedaling and a new Chancellor in the wings, this is the time to reassert faculty control over the curriculum. Please make a special effort to join us on the 27th. You may also submit written proposals to us at alvgc@yahoo.com.  At the following meeting on March 18th we will review specific draft resolutions to be submitted to the Faculty at the April Stated Meeting. 

Sincerely,

Alex S. Vitale
Chair
Brooklyn College Chapter
PSC-CUNY
http://pscbc.blogspot.com/

NYSUT: Do the rich and the special interests really need another $2.2 billion giveaway?

The 2014 executive budget proposes $2.2 billion in tax cuts and freezes that mostly benefit the wealthy, banks and corporations. Under any circumstances, that would be a waste and a bad idea. It's even worse right now, though, when huge gaps exist in the funding of schools and public universities in New York state. 

How about we take that $2.2 billion and do something good with it? 


Take action now at the NYSUT Member Action Center to tell lawmakers to oppose tax cuts that favor the wealthy and use that money to fund education! 

Over the last several years, programs and services at every level of education and health care across the state have been slashed to the bone. Our public colleges and universities have been cut by nearly $2 billion in recent years, and this latest executive eudget proposal would still leave approximately 69 percent of New York state schools at or below 2009-2010 education spending levels. 


Now the savings from those "bad times" budgets are to be used to provide tax breaks for the privileged elite? 


Outrageous. 


Take action now at the NYSUT Member Action Center to tell lawmakers to oppose tax cuts that favor the wealthy and use that money to fund education! 

Any budget that provides increased tax cuts to corporations and a select number of wealthy estate inheritors yet does nothing to restore the drastic cuts to the programs and services which students depend on is simply unacceptable. 


Don't you agree?                       



In solidarity, 

 
Andrew Pallotta

NYSUT Executive Vice President 


P.S.:   
$2.2 billion for the privileged elite or for our students and schools? Tell 
           
lawmakers which choice you prefer! 

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Revised Version of Anti-Boycott Legislation in NY State Assembly

We again want to thank everyone who made calls, sent email messages, signed petitions, wrote statements and did all of the work to push against the anti-boycott legislation in the NY State Assembly. On Feb. 3, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was forced to withdraw his bill and the Higher Education Committee removed it from their agenda that day. This was a tremendous victory for academic freedom and free speech, and a testament to the power of unified action!

But our work is far from over. Speaker Silver has already issued a revised version of his bill, now titled A. 8392A.  There seems to be just one difference between this and the earlier version: Previously a college could have been subject to losing its entire state funding for a year if they had used any of their state funding  on groups that support boycotts of Israel. In the new version, the college would only lose the amount of money actually spent on such activities. (The link to the full text is here: http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld=&bn=A08392&term=&Summary=Y&Text=Y. )

To some this might seem like a reasonable compromise. But don't be fooled. The attempt to withhold any amount of state funding is a direct assault on our constitutionally protected right to free speech.  The truth is, there is no "good version" of a bill that at its core is an attempt to punish acts of academic freedom or free speech. There is no way to work out a compromise or to fine tune this legislation to make it appear less offensive. The only way out of this is to defeat the legislation!

As far as we know, there is no date set yet for a discussion of this bill in the Assembly's Higher Education Committee. We will be keeping track of the bill and will certainly alert you as soon as we hear about a date. But we cannot wait until then to take action...now is the time to once again send a clear, strong message of opposition to this legislation.

Contact Speaker Silver
 Call, email fax or use any other method to contact Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver...District Office phone 212-312-1420, Albany Office phone 518-455-3791, to send an email click here.

Contact the Higher Education Committee of the NY State Assembly
 Contact as many of the other members of the Higher Education Committee as you can. Click here for the list of committee members, which includes links to each of their websites.
 Contact the chair of the Higher Education Committee, Deborah Glick. To send an email to her office, just click here. Her office numbers are Albany Office phone 518-455-4841, District Office phone 212-674-5153.

Help spread the word
 Share this message as widely and as quickly as you can.
 Try to get this information to people throughout NY State...it is important that this be a state-wide effort.
 Send a letter to the editor to express your opposition to this legislation.

We also want to call your attention to troubling developments around the country. In Maryland a bill similar to the NY one has been introduced. Click here for information about that legislation and the campaign to stop it. We are also watching what happens in Florida, Pennsylvania and Illinois where some versions of bills or resolutions have been introduced. Finally, probably the worst version of this legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Congress, although that seems to have virtually no support. We will do our best to keep you informed about these situations as they unfold.

Lots of important information about our fight here in NY and what's going on other places can be found by clicking here.


Ad Hoc Group In Support of Academic Freedom and the First Amendment

CUNY Begins to Yield on Pathways

The CUNY central administration has finally begun to listen to the majority of faculty about Pathways. Changes to the new core curriculum will begin in Fall 2014, according to a memo from Interim Chancellor William Kelly. The changes are the result of the first annual review of Pathways promised in the Board of Trustees' 2011 resolution. The memo announces an end to the three-hour limit on general education courses and says that faculty serving on the committee that reviews general education courses based on Pathways rules will be “chosen through college governance processes.” It also encourages colleges to seek waivers from Pathways rules whenever “a major or degree program cannot be accommodated.” The 30-credit limit on the colleges’ general education core curriculum will remain in place. The changes are consistent with demands for greater autonomy for CUNY’s colleges and respect for faculty’s expertise on curriculum that have been central to the PSC’s Repeal Pathways Campaign.

The announced changes are a testament to the power of faculty organizing, but the fundamental premise of Pathways is still wrong. Pathways still represents an illegal usurpation of faculty power and the 30-credit limit on core curriculum still threatens the quality and breadth of a CUNY education. The union will continue to oppose Pathways and will continue its demand for a thorough and unbiased review of the Pathways policies and processes.

Friday, February 7, 2014

NYSUT Board Approves 'No Confidence' Resolution

Our State Affiliation, New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) has take a dramatic move in voting "No Confidence" in the State Education Commissioner, and calling for his removal. Interestingly, one of the central issues motivating their vote was the way the State has implemented the "Common Core" curriculum. This initiative has many of the same hallmarks as Pathways. It's a top down strategy to standardize teaching, taking away autonomy and innovation from teachers. As with Pathways there was no effort to actively involve those teaching on the class room and has been implemented through threats and intimidation. It's another cost saving move towards centralization of authority and deprofessionalization of teachers. We're very gratified to see K-12 teachers stand up to austerity driven educational policy. Three PSC officers sit on the NYSUT Board and they all supported the vote of No Confidence.

ALBANY, N.Y. Jan. 25, 2014 - New York State United Teachers' Board of Directors approved a resolution Saturday that declared "no confidence" in the policies of State Education Commissioner John King Jr., therefore calling for his removal by the Board of Regents.  NYSUT's board also withdrew its support for the Common Core standards as implemented and interpreted in New York state until SED makes major course corrections to its failed implementation plan and supports a three-year moratorium on high-stakes consequences from standardized testing.
The union's board acted unanimously Saturday morning at a meeting in Albany.
"Educators understand that introducing new standards, appropriate curriculum and meaningful assessments are ongoing aspects of a robust educational system. These are complex tasks made even more complex when attempted during a time of devastating budget cuts. SED's implementation plan in New York state has failed. The commissioner has pursued policies that repeatedly ignore the voices of parents and educators who have identified problems and called on him to move more thoughtfully," said NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi. "Instead of listening to and trusting parents and teachers to know and do what's right for students, the commissioner has offered meaningless rhetoric and token change. Instead of making the major course corrections that are clearly needed, including backing a three-year moratorium on high-stakes consequences for students and teachers from state testing, he has labeled everyone and every meaningful recommendation as distractions."
The resolution states that the board declares "no confidence in the policies of the Commissioner of Education and calls for the New York State Commissioner of Education's removal by the New York State Board of Regents."
NYSUT Vice President Maria Neira said the union has been sounding warning bells since 2011 about the over-emphasis on standardized testing and the state's rushed and unrealistic timeline for introducing curriculum and assessments tied to the Common Core state standards.  She said NYSUT is seeking:
  •  completion of all modules, or lessons, aligned with the Common Core and time for educators to review them to ensure they are grade-level appropriate and aligned with classroom practice;
  •  better engagement with parents, including listening to their concerns about their children's needs;
  •  additional tools, professional development and resources for teachers to address the needs of diverse learners, including students with disabilities and English language learners;
  •  full transparency in state testing, including the release of all test questions, so teachers can use them in improving instruction;
  •  postponement of Common Core Regents exams as a graduation requirement;
  •  the funding necessary to ensure all students have an equal opportunity to achieve the Common Core standards.  The proposed Executive Budget would leave nearly 70 percent of the state's school districts with less state aid in 2014-15 than they had in 2009-10; and
  •  a moratorium, or delay, in the high-stakes consequences for students and teachers from standardized testing to give the State Education Department - and school districts - more time to correctly implement the Common Core.
"The clock is ticking and time is running out," Neira said. Students sit for a new battery of state assessments in just a few months. It's time to hit the 'pause button' on high stakes while, at the same time, increasing support for students, parents and educators. A moratorium on high-stakes consequences would give SED and school districts time to make the necessary adjustments."
The resolution will go to the more than 2,000 delegates to the 600,000-member union's Representative Assembly, to be held April 4-6 in New York City.  The resolution underscores NYSUT's longstanding, strong opposition to corporate influence and privatization in public education and calls for an end to New York's participation in InBloom, a "cloud-based" system that would collect and store sensitive data on New York's schoolchildren.
New York State United Teachers is a statewide union with more than 600,000 members. Members are pre-K-12 teachers; school-related professionals; higher education faculty; other professionals in education, human services and health care; and retirees.  NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and the AFL-CIO.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Initial Victory--Boycott Bill "Taken off the Agenda"

Our calls worked!  This afternoon at the Assembly Higher Education Committee meeting, Chairperson Deborah Glick took A. 8392, the anti-academic freedom bill,  off the agenda.  That is a huge victory for all of us who called and wrote to Deborah Glick, Speaker Sheldon Silver and other representatives.  It’s also a huge victory for the students of New York State.  Congratulations on your eloquence and persistence.  Steve London and I both talked to several lawmakers today, and the report was that they were being inundated with calls and emails in opposition.  The action was clearly in response to our calls and the calls of others across the state.

Don’t put your phones down yet, however, as the bill may be considered at a later meeting or revised and brought forward again.  We are far from finished with this issue.  We will update you as soon as more information becomes available.  Meanwhile, savor this good news, and enjoy the statement below, from the ad hoc coalition working to defeat this bill. 

Thank you, thank you, PSC activists; organizing counts!

Barbara Bowen
 ______________________________________________________
In an extremely positive turn of events, Deborah Glick, chair of the NY State Assembly's Higher Education Committee, started that committee's meeting this afternoon by announcing that the anti-boycott legislation was being taken off the agenda! This meant that it was not discussed in either the Ways and Means or the Rules Committee today, and therefore is not going to the floor of the Assembly for a vote today. 

The organizations working to stop this dangerous assault on academic freedom and free speech want to thank all of you who made calls and sent emails to Albany. We heard from several sources that the phones were ringing off the hooks...your voices were heard!

Assembly Member Glick has said they will be re-working the legislation, so our work is not over yet. We do not know when that might happen or what a revised bill might include, but we'll do our best to keep everyone informed with the most up-to-date information.

The ad hoc group that has been working on this effort includes the Center for Constitutional Rights, the National Lawyers Guild, the Professional Staff Congress (PSC - CUNY faculty union), Jewish Voice for Peace, Jews Say No, the American Studies Association and others. In addition, very strong work came from NYSUT (NY State United Teachers), AAUP, NY Civil Liberties Union, and many individuals.

Thanks again to everyone who took action....it does make a difference!

Saturday, February 1, 2014

PSC Resolution Opposes NYS Senate Bill S.6438 AND NYS Assembly Bill A.8392


The PSC joins the American Association of University Professors, NYSUT, the City University Faculty Senate Executive Committee, the New York State AAUP Conference and the New York University AAUP chapter in opposing New York Assembly Bill A.8392.  The PSC also opposes a nearly identical New York Senate Bill, S.6438, passed by the New York Senate on January 28, 2014.

The two bills would prohibit colleges and universities in New York State from using State funding to support employees’ participation in academic groups or associations that have passed resolutions or taken official actions to promote boycotts against certain countries or their higher education institutions.  The proposed legislation would also prohibit colleges and universities in New York State from using State funding to pay membership dues to those associations or to reimburse travel or lodging for an employee attending any meeting of such association.  Colleges or universities that act in violation of the prohibition would not be eligible for any State funding for that academic year. 

In announcing the proposed Assembly legislation, Speaker Sheldon Silver cited the recent resolution passed by the American Studies Association endorsing a boycott of Israeli academic institutions and supporting the protected rights of scholars and students everywhere to engage in research and public speaking about Israel-Palestine. The proposed legislation, if enacted, would mean that if any CUNY college paid for travel for a faculty member to present an academic paper on, for instance, labor history at a regional meeting of the American Studies Association, CUNY would lose its entire New York State funding for that year.  Had such legislation been in place in 1980, any New York college or university funding an employee to attend any academic entity sponsored by the United Nations would have lost its eligibility for State funding—because the U.N. had enacted a boycott of “all cultural, academic, sports, and other exchanges” with South Africa.   

PSC members hold a variety of positions on the Israel/Palestine conflict, and hold such positions deeply.  PSC members also hold a range of positions on the efficacy and legitimacy of academic boycotts as a strategy.  We stand together, however, in opposing legislation that would subject New York State funding for colleges and universities to this political litmus test.  Such legislation is dangerous to all members of the academic community, whatever our political positions.

Academic freedom is meaningless if it does not protect those who hold unpopular positions, including those who advocate academic boycotts.  In its statement on the proposed New York State Assembly bill, the AAUP writes that such legislation, if enacted, “could impose greater restrictions on the academic freedom of faculty members in New York than are threatened by the ASA boycott resolution.”  The bills purport to oppose collective punishment of countries or their academic institutions, yet they would impose a collective punishment—denial of State funding for a college’s students, faculty and staff—when neither collective nor individual punishment is warranted.  Universities may limit funding for scholarly travel and participation in professional organizations, but such funding decisions should be made by representative faculty bodies based on professional standards, and not on political criteria dictated by elected officials.

The PSC will work with its membership and all of its affiliates to oppose S.6438 and A.8392. We call on all adherents of academic freedom to join us.




Passed unanimously by the PSC Delegate Assembly, January 30, 2014

New York State Boycott Bill Attacks Academic Freedom; Threatens CUNY Funding.

The New York State Assembly is currently considering a bill (A.8392) to prohibit colleges and universities in New York State from using State funding to support employees’ participation in academic organizations that have supported boycotts against any nation or its universities. Colleges or universities that violate this act would lose all state funding. This bill (S.6438) has already passed the State Senate, with major support from both parties.

This Bill represents a major threat to academic freedom and constitutes a profound level of political interference into the scholarly lives of our members. Further, the sanctions created by this law would fall primarily on students. If a CUNY college were to be found in violation of this law, it would be subject to losing its State funding. The result would be the cancellation of hundreds of course sections, undermining the ability of students to be in school. Since student financial aid in the form of TAP is a type of state aid, it might also be eliminated for all students.

Justice Brandeis pointed out that the appropriate state response to speech it disagrees with is more speech, not censorship. This bill represents the exact opposite of this dictum. Rather than stating a clear position on the issues involving American Studies Association boycott of Israeli academic institutions, this bill goes straight to outlawing a whole class of speech and political engagement. This is exactly the kind of politically motivated bullying by the state that the 1st Amendment was designed to prevent, which raises significant concerns about the constitutionality of this bill.

The members of this union have widely divergent views about the appropriateness of academic boycotts and the PSC has previously taken a position against such boycotts. However, the desire of state officials to dictate what kinds of conferences people can attend and what sort of associations they may join is totally unacceptable. While proponents of the bill maintain that it is not a prohibition on action, but merely the use of state funds, the intentions are clear enough. Faculty who cannot get funding to attend conferences, will decree their participation by economic necessity.


It is imperative that members of the State Assembly hear from you today. The bill is currently being actively opposed by the PSC, NYSUT, and the AAUP. A larger coalition of human rights and social justice organizations is also organizing to oppose the bill. This bill will be going before the Assembly Higher Education Committee on Monday in an "off the floor" meeting. The chair of the Committee is Deborah Glick from Manhattan, who along with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver are attempting to move on the bill without hearings or public discussion. It is essential that she hear from as many PSC members as possible in the next few days. In addition, Rhoda Jacobs, whose district includes Brooklyn College is one of the co-sponsors of the bill. She made no effort to reach out to the faculty at Brooklyn College or the PSC before sponsoring this legislation. Written comments can be communicated to them directly through their web sites. 

Urgent Action Needed to Block Assembly Bill Attacking Academic Freedom

Dear PSC Members:

We need you to make calls THIS WEEKEND to help stop the passage of Assembly Bill 8392. This bill would prohibit colleges and universities in New York State from using state funding to support employees' participation in academic groups or associations that have passed resolutions or taken official actions to promote boycotts against certain countries or their higher eduction institutions. Further, colleges or universities that act in violation of this prohibition would not be eligible for any State funding for that academic year!

Last night, the PSC Delegate Assembly passed a resolution opposing this bill and a NY State Senate companion bill. Please see the attached resolution. These bills are attacks on academic freedom and constitutional rights, and are opposed by a broad array of higher education and civil libertarian institutions and organizations.

HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: the sponsors of this legislation (Speaker Silver is the main sponsor) are trying to sneak this through without public knowledge or even holding public legislative hearings. Right now, the Higher Education Committee has scheduled for this Monday an "off the floor" committee meeting (no announced time) in the Speaker's Conference Room (normally not open to the public) to consider Assembly 8392. The fact that the Assembly leadership is proposing such a bill is outrageous and the fact that they are trying to do so behind closed doors adds insult to injury.

HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1) Please read the attached PSC's Statement of Opposition. If you wish, go to the Senate and Assembly webpages and look up the bill numbers to see for yourself what they say.

2) Call or email Speaker Silver's offices to let him know of your opposition to Assembly 8392. Let him know he should pull A 8392 and he should not try to pass this behind closed doors. Speaker Silver's New York City Office: (212) 312-1420; Albany Office: (518) 455-3791; email: speaker@assembly.state.ny.us

3) Call or email Deborah Glick, Chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee, to let her know that you oppose A 8392 and that she should not pass A 8392 out of committee. Chair Glick's New York City Office: (212) 674-5153; Albany Office: (518) 455-4841; email: glickd@assembly.state.ny.us

4) Attached is a list of all members of the Assembly Higher Education Committee. If you live in their district, please use the contact information to let them know of your opposition to A 8392. Also, please contact your Assemblymember to register your opposition to A 8392.

5) Finally, please forward this email to friends and colleagues and ask them to act.

We will do a more systematic outreach to all members next week if this legislation is still alive. Meanwhile, we are counting on you to respond to this call for urgent action!

In solidarity,

Steve London
First Vice President, PSC/CUNY
61 Broadway, Suite 1500
New York, NY 10006
(212) 354-1252
slondon@pscmail.org
www.psc-cuny.org