Hundreds of CUNY staff union members call out sick in ‘illegal’ strike to support anti-Israel protesters
At least 300 members of the union repping faculty and staff at the City University of New York called out sick as part of an “illegal” strike to support anti-Israel protesters who were arrested on campus this week.
James Davis, president of the Professional Staff Congress for the publicly-funded university, who oversees its more than 30,000 members, disavowed the “unauthorized sick-out,” saying it was considered an illegal work stoppage or strike under New York state law, per an email to colleagues.
“This coordinated sick-out is not sanctioned by the Professional Staff Congress,” Davis wrote to union members. “The PSC does not condone this action and discourages PSC members from participating.”
His missive, obtained by The Post, came as CUNY on Strike, a campaign run by PSC-CUNY members, said 250 votes were case in favor of striking to condemn the NYPD’s raid at City College’s Manhattan campus on Tuesday night, which led to the arrest of nearly 200 protesters.
Davis warned members that their participation in the Wednesday action could be met with fines, jail time, or even termination, and that such a strike could hurt the union’s future bargaining power.
Despite the warning, CUNY on Strike touted that at least 300 members took part in the sick-out, calling it “historic” as the union’s first strike in its 52-year existence.
Along with agreeing to the strike, the members also voted to endorse the demands that were being sought by CUNY’s “Gaza Solidarity Encampment.”
Like at college campuses nationwide, the protesters are demanding that their school divest any and all funds to Israel, boycott academic exchanges with the Jewish state and voice its support for Palestine.
The students also want the city “demilitarize” all campuses and restore CUNY’s tuition-free status.
The staff members who went on strike are additionally demanding amnesty for the protesters who were arrested and charged with crimes.
Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, a former longtime CUNY board trustee, said the union should be more alarmed by just how many members took part in it.
“Three hundred is a significant number,” Wiesenfeld told The Post Thursday. “I’d call it a wildcat strike.”
Wiesenfeld added that the blame ultimately falls on the union heads for failing to keep members in line, while at the same time trying to distance PSC-Union from their actions.
Jackson Schwartz, an economics professor at John Jay College, was one of the CUNY staff members who took part in the strike, according to an email sent to his students obtained by The Post.
“In solidarity with our fellow students and faculty [who were arrested], the rank-and-file of the Professional Staff Congress for CUNY (our faculty union) has called for an academic strike,” Schwartz wrote.
“We will be participating in this strike and cancelling class to support the organizers,” he added, later inviting his students to take part in the campus protest.
Neither Schwartz nor CUNY responded to The Post’s requests for comment Thursday.
