I Help Expose Faculty Union's Lies

Professor David Seidemann of Brooklyn College sued the faculty union of the City University of New York, the Professional Staff Congress (PSC).  The suit concerned the far-left union's use of dues money for political purposes unrelated to contract negotiation or administration.  The State of New York threatens any faculty member who would rather not pay dues to the union with violence.  Those not in the union must pay an agency fee.   The union has done little, if anything, to further the faculty's broad economic goals. Once the highest paid faculty in the nation, the CUNY faculty are now in the bottom quartile.  But the union spends an inordinate amount of time  in pro-left-wing and pro-Obama political activity. Initially, the current leadership's insurgency had been funded by one of George Soros's institutes.  In effect, the leadership is using the union as a cash cow to fund left wing political activity while failing to competently operate a union.

Seidemann had sued to require that non-members who are violently forced to the agency fee be able to get a refund for the portion of their dues spent for political purposes.  Initially the PSC claimed that less than 1% of the dues was used for political purposes.  One of Seidemann's former students is now an attorney at the prestigious firm of Jones, Day and he took the case pro bono. Because of a pro-union federal magistrate, the case had to be appealed twice.  As the case was appealed, more and more of the union's budget turned out to be devoted to political purposes.  When they were still not fully examined, the PSC decided to cut its losses and offered to pay Jones, Day Seidemann's legal fees.  By the time they settled, the court had forced the PSC to admit that over 14% of its budget is spent for political purposes.  The true amount is even more.

Yet, in a statement to its executive committee, the PSC lied once again and claimed to have won the case.

Sharad Karkhanis asked me to write an article for his Patriot Returns newsletter, which is sent to 13,000 CUNY employees.  The newsletter went out this morning.  I had asked the PSC to comment on the case, but they did not respond.  But this morning, after the newsletter was released, I received an e-mail from Dania

Rajendra, the PSC's coordinator, of communications. The e-mail added nothing.