By Padraig O’Donogue
I am a passionate member of the PSC and will be part of the (hopefully) packed house at Cooper Union on November 19th when we continue our path to a new contract. I’ve had quite a few really positive experiences with the union that have stuck with me and make me want to fight for the contract that we deserve.
My first interaction with the PSC-CUNY was 14 years ago as a student at Hunter College when the PSC was a significant part of the NYC anti-Iraq war movement. The Union sponsored buses to go down to DC for large national marches calling on the government to reverse its momentum toward war, asking lawmakers to redirect public funds to education: “Books not bombs.” Remembering the mass protests on the Mall, I can only echo the prophetic intention behind that chant. Now, as a PSC member, and six years into our fight for a new contract, I see that just a small fraction of those funds squandered in war would grant us the contract we deserve.
After working a year at the Murphy Institute, I moved within the Institute to a state-sponsored line in 2006 and became an HEO member of the PSC. Soon after, it was the Union’s affiliation to the American Federation of Teachers (Local 2334) that allowed me to partake in two consecutive summer volunteer opportunities in New Orleans post-Katrina. We worked with AFT sisters and brothers from around the country to support the decimated local teacher’s union UTNO as they recovered from nasty politics and charter school takeovers. The union has also sponsored skill-building through its professional development fund, allowing me to go to conferences and trainings that have benefited my work at the Institute.
Thankfully, the PSC interrupts the patriarchal paradigm by having a woman president when so many unions are presided over by men. During the heady days of Occupy Wall Street, I recall Barbara Bowen speaking to thousands of assembled protestors in front of 1 Police Plaza under the shadows of the Municipal building, fiercely conveying the need to protect the mission of CUNY as the university for working class New Yorkers. The fight to protect the university has become far tougher as we negotiate this contract, but Bowen’s leadership and resolve continues unabated today.
I recently became a dad for the first time, and I am grateful to the PSC for the last contract they negotiated in 2010, which included paid parental leave as one of its wins. This leave allows me to spend eight weeks with my daughter Haviva at a formative time in her young life. Such leave is still a rarity in the US and I am always proud to say: “The union fought for this for me.” Now it is time for me to fight for my union!
Padraig O’Donoghue works at the Murphy Institute on student support and retention.
