Is Union Power Growing in Mamdani's New York?

"The City University of New York was no exception. Last May, the administration called in the New York City Police Department to crack down on a student-led encampment and protest at Brooklyn College, and the following month, four adjunct professors lost their jobs for participating in the demonstration. The group earned the moniker of the CUNY "Fired Four." Now, after a devoted campaign of grassroots union organizing, three of the professors are finally being reinstated."

"James David, president of the PSC, lauded the news as a "major victory" but cautioned that it is "not complete" in a press release on January 26. "It is important both in terms of restoring these harmed colleagues to their jobs and repudiating the administration's callous disregard for the academic judgment of faculty, for First Amendment protected speech, and for academic freedom.""

Protests erupted at American universities during Israel’s genocide in Gaza, including a student-led encampment at Brooklyn College. The CUNY administration called in the NYPD and subsequently terminated four adjunct professors who participated, labeling them the "Fired Four." Grassroots union organizing led by the Professional Staff Congress pushed for reinstatement. After talks that involved Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration and the PSC, three of the fired professors were reinstated. PSC president James David called the outcome a major victory but emphasized the outcome remains incomplete, framing the reinstatements as a defense of academic judgment, free speech, and academic freedom.

Read at The Nation