CUNY Faculty Demand Fair Pay:
“No Business as Usual”

This protest, led by the Professional Staff Congress (PSC) union, marked a boiling point after nearly two years without raises for CUNY’s 30,000 faculty and professional staff. The union’s demand? An economic proposal that respects both workers and the students they serve.

Call to Action: “No More Business as Usual”

CUNY has not increased faculty and staff pay since November 2022, despite union members calling the current offer insufficient. PSC President James Davis, an English professor at Brooklyn College, testified during the hearing before joining the blockade, declaring that CUNY’s recent 3% raise proposal simply doesn’t keep pace with NYC’s cost of living, much less reflect inflation. “We’re demanding real raises, job security, and urgency. There can be no business as usual at CUNY until we get a fair offer,” Davis stated before his arrest.

The faculty’s demands reflect broader concerns about competitive pay, job security, and CUNY’s ability to recruit and retain top educators for NYC’s 233,000 students. According to the PSC, CUNY salaries lag thousands behind those at comparable institutions, putting a strain on both staff and the quality of education.

A Stand for CUNY Students

In solidarity with students, adjunct faculty member Youngmin Seo of LaGuardia Community College noted, “Our teaching and working conditions are our students’ learning conditions. We can’t focus fully on teaching if we’re constantly stressed about how to afford to live.” Seo, along with colleagues from 15 campuses, sees fair pay and job security as necessary for student success.

The Stakes for CUNY

For CUNY’s 233,000 students—nearly 80% of whom are people of color, and 60% from households with incomes below $30,000—faculty stability is essential to sustaining the university’s mission. “New York City’s working families deserve a world-class public university,” said NYC Central Labor Council President Vincent Alvarez. “For CUNY to retain high-quality educators, they must meet the needs of their faculty and staff.”

The PSC proposes an 18% raise over four years, while CUNY’s offer adds up to only 12.25% over 4.5 years, a difference they say could impact future student and faculty recruitment.

What’s Next?

The protest marks a critical juncture as one of New York City’s largest unresolved public-sector contracts. CUNY’s trustees now face heightened pressure from both faculty and the broader labor movement to come to the table with a fair offer that meets the demands of workers and students alike.