PSC March to #FreeTheFunds

More than 200 faculty, staff and students marched through midtown Wednesday, April 28 with the Professional Staff Congress demanding that CUNY “Free The Funds!” and use the stimulus money Congress allocated to CUNY for pandemic relief. (Photo by Dave Sanders)

CUNY colleges have been allocated more than $891 million in federal stimulus funds that can be used for institutional purposes related to the pandemic (see college-by-college allocations). The union members want CUNY to commit to spending the institutional money to reverse the layoffs and austerity measures CUNY rushed to impose last year.

"We fought hard in the American Relief Plan to deliver billions of dollars in critical support for higher education in New York, including to CUNY, an institution I love, because it is a direct investment in a better future for millions of students -- and for America. It is vital that those funds are used to keep education affordable for students and to preserve the quality of education offered, including maintaining and restoring a full amount of the professors and instructors needed to deliver that education. When we were in the depths of the covid crisis, all entities had to tighten their belts, but now that we have delivered this much-deserved and generous aid package we should make every effort to restore operations to optimal levels," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Read more.