PSC Head Bowen Opposed In Election by Brodzinski

FRED BRODZINSKI: Campaign math a bit fuzzy.

Ballots for the Professional Staff Congress officer elections were mailed out April 1, with President Barbara Bowen's New Caucus slate facing a challenge from the CUNY Alliance, led by Adjunct Frederick R. Brodzinski, who claims that Ms. Bowen has negotiated poor contract deals and has mismanaged the union's welfare fund during her nineyear tenure.

Ms. Bowen, who is running with current Vice President Steve London, Secretary Arthurine DeSola and Treasurer Michael Fabricant, is touting her successes in nine years as PSC leader, including the union's most-recent contract, which provided 10.5 percent in raises over three years.

Claims Raises Fell Short

Mr. Brodzinski, who works at City College and John Jay, has countered in on-line campaign literature that the PSC's basic negotiated raises have "failed to keep up with the costof living increases." He claimed there had been a base salary increase of 11.9 percent since 2002, compared to a 19.5-percent cost of living increase in the same period. It is not clear, however, what he is basing his raise estimates on. Once a 4-percent raise under the current contract takes effect Oct. 1, salaries will have increased by 19.6 percent over that period.

BARBARA BOWEN: Seeking fourth term.

CUNY Alliance also alleges that the current PSC leadership "drove the welfare fund into near-bankruptcy," with $31 million of retroactive pay diverted to salvage it, costing the aver- age member between $1,000 and $2,000. The challengers promised if elected to negotiate greater cash infusions into the welfare fund.

The welfare fund's problems, which Ms. Bowen inherited, led her to forsake raises at the start of her regime to use part of the bargaining settlement to solidify the fund.

New Caucus campaign material, published in the PSC newspaper, notes that its opponents "have no record in PSC leadership" and that Mr. Brodzinski "has never been a chapter chair, never been a PSC delegate, never joined us in lobbying in Albany, never negotiated a PSC contract or even served on the negotiating team."

Mail ballots are due back by April 29, and will be counted the following day by the American Arbitration Association.

Repelled Foes' '06 Challenge

In 2006, Ms. Bowen's slate defeated Kingsborough Community College Professor Rina Yarmish at the top of the CUNY Alliance ticket, with 55 percent of the vote. Ms. Yarmish is running for treasurer on the group's slate this time. Also on the slate are Borough of Manhattan Community College Professor James Blake for Vice President, and City College Professor Thea Pignataro for Secretary.

Three years ago, Ms. Bowen criticized Ms. Yarmish's "Karl Rove-style political tactics," particularly the challenger's accusation that the contract PSC was negotiating would fall short of sister union United University Professions' most recent contract. The contract's raises wound up matching UUP's.