Anti-Bullying

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EVENTS| RESOURCES | TIMELINE

#BullyFreeCUNY

 

The PSC Anti-Bullying Committee is organizing events throughout the year to confront workplace bullying at CUNY. The calendar is pasted below.

Workplace bullying is repeated, unreasonable actions aimed at intimidating, humiliating, degrading or undermining an employee or group of employees (Clarion, June 2012). We know from testimony given during our DA and chapter meetings and through years of organizing that bullying is a real problem at CUNY. It’s a difficult issue, not easily solved by an employer or a union.   

CUNY management and the PSC agreed during the last round of contract negotiations to develop a joint campaign to address bullying in the workplace. That shared commitment was reaffirmed in Fall 2020, and the union is continuing this important work with the intention of further engagement with the University.   

Like all our work, confronting workplace bullying requires collective action and active solidarity. PSC members need guidance about how to address bullying when they experience or witness it.  But the culture of our CUNY workplaces must also be shifted so that bullying is universally unacceptable and our colleagues who are the targets of bullying feel empowered and supported, not alone or ashamed.  

To guide our anti-bullying efforts, the Committee members turned to the set of Community Norms and Practices adopted by the PSC in July, which call on us as PSC members and individuals to “nurture a work environment that is respectful and free from discrimination, harassment or bullying.” The commitments we make to each other in the norms and practices don’t have to apply to just our community of unionists, they can and should apply to our entire university community.  

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

 

PAST EVENTS

(Listed in reverse chronological order. Selected recordings of the speaker presentations or slides are typically posted one week from the day of the live event.)

 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 6:30 pm | Anti-Bullying Workshop
Dr. Maria Volpe, Director of the CUNY Dispute Resolution Center, will conduct an interactive workshop on mediation: promises and challenges. (Posting of recording is forthcoming.)

 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2022 PM | Anti-Bullying Workshop
Under the current contract, what can you do right now if you are being bullied? Faye Moore, PSC Director of Contract Administration, will be providing information and education about members' rights, bullying and contract enforcement.

 

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2022 | Anti-Bullying Training
This is a training for campus support team members who will be helping other people who experienced workplace bullying. In this orientation training for the pilot campus support team members, we will review their roles and responsibilities, learn how to best support members of the PSC bargaining unit in need of support, share best practices for listening to personal stories, and equip members with resources for further assistance. The four pilot campuses are Bronx Community College, City College, Hostos Community College, Queensborough Community College.

 

CANCELLED--WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2022 | Anti-Bullying Workshop
Join us for an exciting workshop on workplace politics and bullying given by Dr. Leah Hollis, who is a visiting scholar at Rutgers University and a noted national and international expert on workplace bullying. Further, she currently serves as an associate professor at Morgan State University and was just awarded the prestigious 2022 Dr. Iva G. Jones Medallion Award at Morgan State University - which recognizes excellence in teaching, research, service, leadership and character. Her research interests focus on healthy workplace issues, race, gender, and intersectionality issues.

We are attempting to reschedule with Dr. Hollis. In the meantime, please avail yourself to listen-if you can- to Dr. Hollis' presentation on YouTube which is about an hour and twenty-one minutes long. It is titled: Bullying in Higher Education: Understanding Vulnerable Employees' Experiences.

 

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2022 | Anti-Bullying Workshop
A discussion on allyship by Dr. Loraleigh Keashly. Dr. Keashly is a Professor of Communication; Associate Dean, Curriculum & Student Affairs, College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts; and Distinguished Service Professor at Wayne State University. Her main research focus is the nature, effects and amelioration of uncivil and bullying behaviors in the workplace with a particular interest in the role of organizational structure and culture in the facilitation or prevention and management of these behaviors.

 

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022 | Anti-Bullying Workshop
Rolling out Community Norms and Practices at your chapter meeting. We will discuss strategies for creating a welcoming and inclusive environment, introducing the Community Norms and Practices, and address issues and objections that may arise.

 

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2022 | Anti-Bullying Training
Self-assertiveness, self-empowerment, and self-resilience are at the core for tackling workplace bullying. If we can become more aware and educated in these qualities, we will improve our self-image, communicate in a clear and confident manner, and respond to situations with dignity and respect. Let's work together to combat workplace bullying at CUNY. Professor Clara Wanjgurt, Queensborough Community College, will be conducting this training on assertiveness.

 

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2022 | Anti-Bullying Workshop
An interactive workshop on powerful listening skills will be conducted by Professor Claudia Shacter-deChabert, School of Labor and Urban Studies

 

MONDAY, 5 Weeks (Nov 15, 22, 29, Dec 13, Dec 20, 2021) | Online Book Group
We will be reading "Bully Free at Work" (eBook available at https://www.bullyfreeatwork.com) by Valerie Cade. This group will be facilitated by Professor Clara Wajngurt from Queensborough Community College. All PSC members are invited to join, learn and grow together as we cope with and stop workplace bullying. Any questions, please email Amy Jeu, PSC Anti-Bullying Committee Member, at [email protected].

 

MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2021 | Anti-Bullying Workshop
A discussion on communicating in the CUNY workplace led by Professor Soribel Genao, CUNY Queens College. No video for this event.

 

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2021 | Anti-Bullying Workshop
A discussion on how to handle disagreements. Please refer to LinkedIn Learning video "Communicating through Disagreement" by Michael Shermer.

 

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2021 | #BullyFreeCUNY Anti-Bullying Digital Media Action Day
Through coordinated social media, PSC members will share stories, tweet and post about workplace bullying -- its tactics, its effects and its costs. Tell us your story.

 

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2021 | Towards a Better Workplace
A lunchtime discussion on a #BullyFreeCUNY
No video for this event. Click here to download slides.

 

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2021 | PSC Delegate Assembly Presentation  
Committee members share information on the PSC’s anti-bullying work at the union’s monthly delegate assembly.  

 

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2021 | Unity Day 
Building solidarity to end bullying at CUNY .

 

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2021 | Personal Story 
A City College CLT tells his bullying story.  No video for this event.
Speaker: Ali Askarinejad (City)

 

MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2021 | Graciano Matos Remembrance Event 
Matos, a PSC delegate and a staunch advocate against bullying at CUNY, was committed to changing policy and contract language related to workplace bullying.  

 

WEEK OF OCTOBER 18-22, 2021 | Freedom from Bullies Week
A concentrated week of events to highlight workplace bullying.

 

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2021 | Listening Session
A discussion of possible anti-bullying contract provisions and policy language  
Speakers: Contract Enforcement and Principal Officers

 

MONDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2021 | Bullying 101
A session on the costs of bullying at CUNY  
Speakers: Amy Jeu (Hunter), Clara Wajngurt (QCC), Nichole McDaniel (BCC), Angie Beeman (Baruch)
Download slides: Anti-Bullying Committee, Community Agreement, Bullying 101: Shedding Light on a Shadow Epidemic

 

RESOURCES​

TIMELINE