On Oct. 21, over 30 members of the Professional Staff Congress were arrested during a Board of Trustees hearing at John Jay College. The union members had created a blockade in front of the college in protest for wage raises.

It has now officially been over two years without a raise for CUNY members and staff. CUNY administrators have continuously ignored the needs of over 30,000 faculty and staff members, while providing significant raises for themselves.

“CUNY offered unacceptable raises seven months ago, a year after their top executives received 27% and 30% bumps in pay,” PSC President James Davis said. “They haven’t shown faculty, staff and students the respect of a fair economic offer and haven’t put another dollar on the bargaining table since March.”

Davis was one of the members who was arrested.

The salary bumps offered by CUNY executives have been miniscule at best. According to PSC, they offered “…two 3-percent raises and two 3.125-percent raises, with the last raise of a proposed four-and-a-half-year deal expected to take effect in 2026.” These proposed raises are not nearly enough to survive in this economy, considering the rising cost of living and inflation rates.

The proposed salary bumps are considered especially insulting since CUNY adjuncts already make less compared to other New York City universities’ adjunct faculty. “…while CUNY adjuncts are paid $5,500 per course, adjuncts at Fordham University, The New School and Rutgers University earned from $8,000 to $10,000 a course,” The Chief wrote.

PSC members should not have to risk being arrested to be heard. CUNY prides itself on being accessible to all students and providing social mobility yet refuses to properly pay the people who make that possible. CUNY executives must provide better wages for faculty so that they can continue to work without having to struggle to make ends meet.