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Israel Kugler, 1917-2007 to Organize at CUNY

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Israel Kugler, 1917-2007 to Organize at CUNY 12 NEWS Clarion | November-December 2007 After the Taylor Law of 1967 al- lowed for collective bargaining in public institutions in New York, Iz made an even more determined bid Israel Kugler, 1917-2007 to organize at CUNY. His efforts met strong opposition from man- agement and competition from an- By IRWIN YELLOWITZ other faculty organization, the PSC Retirees Chapter Pioneer of unionism in higher education Legislative Conference, headed by Belle Zeller. Israel Kugler, who died on October The rivalry between the organi- 1, was a pioneer, a visionary and an zations led to two collective bar- activist. Iz, as he was known to gaining units and contracts in 1969. everyone, believed in academic In 1972, the UFCT and Legislative unionism when few others did. He Conference merged to form the argued that faculty and profession- Professional Staff Congress. Belle al staff should be in one union to Zeller became president and Iz was maximize their bargaining power. the deputy president. The major He believed that this union should difference between the two groups be affiliated with the labor move- had been Iz’s insistence that an aca- ment and should not only serve the demic union had to be part of the needs and interests of its members larger labor movement. Iz achieved through collective bargaining, but this objective, as the new PSC also work to achieve social justice in rapidly became an influential local the nation at large. in the AFT. Iz was always an active leader who could rally support from many CONTINUED ACTIVISM sources, and he had the intelligence This power sharing arrangement and drive to carry through on his between Kugler and Zeller never program. You could disagree with worked, and in 1973 Iz challenged Iz, but not ignore him. Belle Zeller for the presidency. He Iz Kugler’s parents were immi- lost in a very close election. In 1976, grants from Russia who strongly Dan Miller. PSC Photo Collection, Wagner Labor Archives, NYU. Iz once more ran for president of supported the Jewish labor move- Iz Kugler, left, with Belle Zeller on a picket line at Brooklyn College. the PSC against Irwin Polishook, ment, including the fraternal group and again he was unsuccessful. He the Workmen’s Circle. It was a per- demanding the reinstatement of and the president’s operation of the can Federation of Teachers granted then disbanded his caucus, and de- sonal fulfillment for Iz to be elected Morris Schappes, who had been college with scant consultation from a charter for a separate union that spite his personal disappointment president of the Workmen’s Circle fired from the faculty at City College the faculty and professional staff. would organize in higher education. at not achieving the presidency of from 1980 to 1984. As a child, Iz because of his support of the Com- The common wisdom was that edu- Iz led United Federation of College the PSC, urged his supporters to accepted the democratic socialism munist Party. Thus Iz’s life-long de- cators would not join a union, con- Teachers (UFCT), which became ac- join the majority caucus to of the Jewish labor movement, fense of academic freedom began in sidered suitable only for tive in both public and pri- strengthen the union. The merger but he also drew from the larger so- his student days. blue-collar workers. Iz ab- Iz was an vate sectors. During the of the two caucuses was a success, ciety. By the time he was a teenag- The political views developed in solutely rejected this con- 1960s, Iz organized unions and it created a unified leadership er, Iz had joined the Young People’s his youth also undergirded Iz’s com- tention, and he was to prove organizer and negotiated contracts at for the PSC that helped win several Socialist League, an affiliate of the mitment to social justice. One exam- the conventional wisdom from his the Fashion Institute of excellent contracts in the 1980s. American Socialist Party. ple was his support of the civil wrong for higher education Technology, the Merchant Iz retired in 1980, but continued to rights movement, both within the la- just as the United Federation youth to the Marine Academy, Pratt In- support the PSC up to his last day. CCNY GRAD bor movement and in the larger of Teachers debunked it in end of his stitute and Westchester He wrote forceful letters to Clarion, Iz entered City College in the community. In the mid-1950s, after the public schools. Community College. Clear- made major contributions to the Re- midst of the Great Depression of the he became a leader in the American By 1956, Iz not only had days. ly the naysayers about tirees Chapter’s Program Commit- 1930s and graduated in 1938. His par- Federation of Teachers (AFT), Iz de- organized a union at his col- unionism in higher educa- tee, and as late as 2004 took part in a ents sacrificed to keep him in col- manded that the union suspend lege, but achieved notable gains in tion had to reconsider. union protest at CUNY Central. lege – even a free one – despite the southern locals that did not allow salaries and teaching load as well In 1966, Iz and the UFCT also led Iz was one of the founders of privations wrought by the Depres- African Americans to join – and the as achieving statutory tenure for a strike at St. John’s University unionism in American higher edu- sion. During his years at City Col- AFT adopted this policy. its faculty. In the process, the union over the firing of 31 faculty who cation, and today’s academic lege, Iz participated actively in the broke the paternalistic, top-down wanted to form a union. He mount- unions serve as a living memorial vibrant political debates of the day, ORGANIZER culture of the college. Faculty and ed a vigorous campaign in support to the work of Iz Kugler. often carried on from the alcoves of After serving in the Navy for four staff now were participants in their of the strikers, including picket the college cafeteria. Despite the bit- years during World War II, Iz began professional lives through their lines at the campus, rallies and Irwin Yellowitz, who had been a ter disputes Iz had with students teaching in 1948 at a predecessor of union. national publicity. Although the member of the UFCT, served as PSC who supported the Communist Par- the New York City College of Tech- To gain strength, Iz’s union strike was lost in l967, the wide- Vice President for Senior Colleges ty, he joined with other activists nology. He immediately began to or- moved into the Teachers’ Guild, a spread attention it gained aided from 1973 to 1984 and as PSC Trea- from the Young People’s Socialist ganize a union to combat the poor predecessor of the United Federa- organizing elsewhere in higher surer from 1984 to 1997. The PSC is League in a sit-down demonstration salaries and working conditions, tion of Teachers. In 1963, the Ameri- education. planning a memorial; see page 2. Professional Staff Congress/CUNY NonProfit Org. 61 Broadway, 15th Floor U.S. Postage New York, New York 10006 PAID New York, N.Y. 15–MINUTE ACTIVIST Permit No. 8049 Sign up for a fair contract Take a minute to fill out the management hears our argu- short form on page 2 or online at ments at the bargaining table www.psc-cuny.org/HelpWith when they feel pressure from our Contract.htm and pledge your actions outside the room. participation in the fight for a So, take a few more minutes fair contract! Contributing is as to talk to your colleagues about easy as wearing a PSC button or the campaign. Raise awareness taping a campaign poster to your on campus by talking about the wall. The power of the PSC de- issues, attending a chapter pends on the widest possible meeting and sending in the form membership participation – and on page 2..
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