First and Foremost You
are entitled to join your union, the Professional Staff Congress,
which represents full-time and part-time faculty and staff at CUNY.
We urge you to exercise this right. To join you must sign an
authorization card. If you are not a member, an agency fee of 1% is
deducted from your paycheck. Union dues are the same amount. Union
members are entitled to vote in officer elections and on contract
ratification. You must be a member for four months before qualifying
to vote. Call the PSC Membership Department for a card to join the
union.
Contractual Classification
All CLIP teachers are classified as Continuing Education Teachers
and are covered by the Continuing Education section of the PSC/CUNY
contract. The union contract is available. It includes a
supplemental agreement on Continuing Education Teachers (including
CLIP Teachers). Call the union for your copy.
Pay
Scale As of September 19, 2007, the minimum hourly rate for
CLIP teachers is $33.81. You are entitled to a longevity increase of
$1.22 per hour after your second, fourth and sixth anniversaries in
the program provided that you have worked at least 900 hours in each
year that you have been employed in CLIP. For more information about
longevity increases, see p. 97 of the PSC-CUNY contract.
COMPLAINTS & GRIEVANCES
A complaint is an informal
claim by an employee or the PSC of improper, unfair, arbitrary or
discriminatory treatment. A complaint may, but need not, constitute
a grievance, and is processed through an informal procedure. A
grievance is an allegation by an employee or the PSC that there has
been: 1) a breach, misinterpretation, or improper application of the
contract; 2) an arbitrary or discriminatory application of or a
failure to follow the Board Bylaws related to terms and conditions
of employment
Contact your campus grievance
officer or the union headquarters at 212-354-1252 to initiate a
complaint or grievance. Grievances and complaints must be filed
within 30 days, not counting weekends and legal holidays,
from the time you become aware of a problem.
Basic Health & Retirement Benefits from your Employer
CLIP Teachers appointed to a
position that will continue for a period of more than six months and
requires them to teach a minimum of 20 hours per week are entitled
to the following:
- Individual or
family health insurance through the City of New York
- A buyout waiver of
up to $1,000 per year for teachers who do not enroll in an
insurance plan because they have other health insurance
- Chemotherapy and
injectable medications through the City of New York’s PICA
program
- A pension through
the Teachers’ Retirement System of New York City
- Up to 28 days of
sick leave
- Workers’
compensation
- Pay for days on
jury duty
You must fill out forms in
your campus Human Resources office in order to be enrolled in
the pension system, a health insurance plan, and the various
benefits provided by the PSC/CUNY Welfare Fund (see below). You
must also fill out forms to receive the buyout waiver if you
qualify for it. It is very important for all new teachers
to take care of these forms as soon as possible.
Health Insurance Benefits:
CLIP Teachers have a choice of several health insurance plans that
are provided through The New York City Health Benefits Program. Your
campus HR office has a booklet that explains the costs and benefits
of each plan so that you can choose the plan that best suits your
needs. Two of the options have no associated premium payments.
You may change your plan once
a year. The paperwork to change your plan must be completed during
the fall open enrollment period, and the change goes into effect the
following January.
Health Insurance Buyout
Waiver: If you choose not to enroll in a health insurance plan
through The City of New York because you have private health
insurance, you are entitled to an annual lump-sum payment called a
buyout waiver. You will still be eligible for benefits through the
Welfare Fund if you decline the City of New York’s health insurance.
Pension: CLIP teachers
who are not presently a member or retiree of any other New York City
pension system may join the New York City Teachers’ Retirement
System (TRS). Although CLIP teachers are not required to join the
pension system, it is strongly recommended that all teachers join as
soon as they are on payroll. The PSC provides free pension
counseling. For more information, call the PSC.
Sick Leave: CLIP
teachers are entitled to earn up to 14 days of sick leave per year,
which can accrue up to a maximum of 28 days. One sick day is earned
for each 64 hours of paid work.
Workers’ Compensation:
CLIP Teachers are covered by Workers’ Compensation.
Jury Duty: You must be
paid your regular salary for jury duty and give CUNY any pay for
jury duty that you receive.
Supplemental Health
Benefits from the PSC-CUNY Welfare Fund
Prescription drug
coverage is provided through the PSC/CUNY Welfare Fund, except for
chemotherapy and injectable medications, which are covered through
the City of New York’s PICA program for which you will receive a
separate card.
The PSC/CUNY Welfare Fund also
provides dental, optical, 1st year life
insurance, long-term disability, death and
hearing aid coverage. In addition, members may elect to
purchase a) a higher level of disability protection, b) additional
life insurance coverage, c) catastrophic medical coverage and/or d)
long-term care insurance.
CLIP teachers who meet health
insurance eligibility requirements for the New York City Health
Benefits Plan are entitled to the same Welfare Fund benefits as
active full-time CUNY professional staff members.
You can get more information
about these benefits on the Welfare Fund website at
www.psccunywf.org.
Optional / Elective
Benefits
Optional [self-pay] benefits
include:
- Tax-deferred annuities
and supplemental retirement accounts
- Transit savings accounts
- Medical savings accounts
To enroll for these optional
benefits, you must get applications from your campus HR office.
Tax-deferred annuities and
supplemental retirement accounts are similar to IRAs. You
voluntarily contribute a percentage of your pay on a pre-tax basis
to an account that accumulates until you begin to withdraw it after
you reach retirement age. You have a choice of an account with TRS,
HRC or TIAA-CREF.
Transit savings accounts
enable you to pay for Metrocards with pre-tax money. They
are highly recommended for anyone using public transportation in New
York City on a regular basis.
Flexible savings accounts
enable you to pay for medical expenses not covered by your health
insurance with pre-tax money.
Certain elective benefits are
available by overlapping groups. For example, long-term care
insurance is offered not only by the PSC-CUNY Welfare Fund, but also
by both the City of New York and NY State United Teachers. Both the
Welfare Fund and NYSUT have a catastrophic medical insurance
package. Typically the Welfare Fund package attempts to best address
the immediate concerns of PSC members. Information on other programs
is available through the NYSUT website or through the NY City
Employee Health Benefits Program website. For more information
about these benefits, contact your campus Human Resources office.
IMPORTANT
ADDITIONAL PAY/BENEFITS INFORMATION
Teachers hired only as
summer replacements are not eligible for health insurance, paid
sick leave, longevity increases or pensions through the Teachers’
Retirement System.
Teachers who do not teach
during the summer term are not eligible for health insurance
coverage during July and August. They may maintain health benefits
under COBRA, the federal law which allows employees to pay for
health insurance themselves for up to 18 months. When teachers
return to work in the fall term, they must go to the campus human
resources office and fill out a form to reinstate their health
coverage. This is necessary even if the teacher did not use COBRA in
the summer.
CLIP teachers who change
sites only for the summer are not eligible for health insurance
during the summer term if they are not teaching at their home
campus.
CLIP teachers who change
sites permanently If you change permanently from one CLIP
site to another, your pay rate and your accumulated sick days should
travel with you. However, this does not happen automatically. You
must get a form from the director of the first campus where you
worked stating your hourly rate, years of service, and accumulated
sick days. This form should be given to the director at your new
campus. CLIP teachers who change sites must also fill out new forms
for health insurance and Welfare Fund benefits, and must give their
TRS pension number to the Human Resources office at their new
campus.
Leaves for Special Purposes
Section 13.5 of the CUNY Board of Trustees bylaws states that
“special leaves for personal emergencies of not more than ten
working days may be granted with pay by the president at his/her
discretion.” This provision may be used for bereavement leave.
Professional Development
Grants CLIP teachers who have taught in the program for at least
one year are eligible for professional development grants from the
PSC. There is more information available at
http://www.psc-cuny.org/ProfessionalDevelopment.htm
The union
contract is available to you. It includes a supplemental agreement on
Continuing Education Teachers (including CLIP Teachers). Call the
union for your copy
