NYC NOW - September 21, 2023: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: September 21, 2023

New York City parents breathe easier as the school bus drivers' union announces an agreement with major providers. Meanwhile, the Education Department plans to buy filters for contentious classroom air purifiers. Additionally, artworks by Egon Schiele, previously owned by Holocaust victim Fritz Grünbaum, have been restored to his descendants after a prolonged legal battle. Plus, a group of female professors at Vassar College allege gender-based pay discrimination, highlighting a broader issue in academia. Jacques Abou-Rizk, editor-in-chief of Vassar College’s student newspaper, provides further insights.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. I'm Junae Pierre. Some New York City parents who have kids who take yellow school buses are breathing a sigh of relief. The union that represents school bus drivers says it has an agreement with several of the major school bus providers. The local 1181 says it's still negotiating with three bus companies, and members of the union will have to ratify this deal in the coming weeks. The Department of Education did not imagine. immediately respond to a request for comment.

In other school news, New York City's Education Department says it's in the process of buying new filters for controversial air purifiers used in city classrooms. WNYC's Ramsey-C-C-C-cli-fae has more on the devices. The city purchased two air purifiers for every public school classroom starting in 2020. As WNYC previously reported, questions soon emerged about the effectiveness of the devices. Sarah Allen, an elementary school teacher in Brooklyn, says the machines are loud. She says most teachers at her school don't turn them on. Like, what a waste of money on, you know, just low-quality product.

Records show the city has paid $85 million so far to Delos Living, which supplied the purifiers. The company says the purifiers provide vital protection from COVID-19 and other pollutants. Seven artworks looted by the Nazis are now in the hands of the law. of the descendants of a Jewish performer murdered during the Holocaust, ending a long legal fight. The paintings by the Austrian artist Egon Shiele were owned by Fritz Grunbaum, who was killed at the Dachau concentration camp in 1941. Raymond Dowd is a lawyer for Grumbaum's descendants and says he was coerced into handing over his collection. They put him in a concentration camp and forced him to sign a power of attorney

that forced him to liquidate all his property and give all the proceeds to the Nazis. So if that's not theft, what is? The pieces were held for years by the Museum of Modern Art, the Morgan Library, and other institutions. The family says they intend to auction the artworks later this year to fund scholarships for young musicians. Stay close. There's more after the break. A group of female professors is suing Vassar College in Phukypsey,

alleging gender-based salary discrimination. The professors say female faculty, members receive lower average salaries than men performing the same work. The American Association of University Professors calls this a common issue. It recently found that across academia, women professors make 82 cents for every dollar their male counterparts make. Jack Abu Riesk is the editor-in-chief of Vassar College's student newspaper, The Miscellany News. He spoke with my colleague, Sean Carlson, about the case. Can you tell us more about the details of the lawsuit and what the professors are alleging and what they want to see happen? Absolutely. So in the lawsuit, they largely cite evidence

from the Chronicle of Higher Education that shows gender pay disparities rising to as much as 14.6% in 2019 and 2020. The lawsuit also argues that Vassar has systematically offered men higher starting salaries than women and subsequently delays the promotion of female professors. They argue that Vassar has responded to this data by decreasing the level of transparency surrounding faculty salaries and that VASO's cooperation has largely ended. The college and both the plaintiffs have acknowledged that they've been working with the college since January of 2019 on the issue of pay disparity, but now that internal efforts have not worked out, the professors have decided to bring it to the court of law. In terms of what they are looking for, it's not exactly made

public what the settlement they're looking for is, but there has been statements, joint statements of support, asking for swift and amicable full compensation for what has been lost and for the pay disparity as well as full compensation for the efforts that these professors have put in fighting the gender pay disparity. So some historical context here, Vassar College was a women's college for more than 100 years. It just went co-ed in 1969. So do the plaintiffs have any idea as to how gender pay disparity was able to take root at this school? It's a very good question. And so while Vassar was founded on the ideals of equitable education for all, and still, while we're co-educational, believes that they function as a pioneer for women's education. And so it's a very, you know, interesting and convoluted answer to that question, because it's not very clear how this happened. But the professors, they're alleging that this systemic discrimination has functioned largely.

based on, you know, starting salaries, has been based on a unfair and biased faculty review process, and that for, you know, over two decades now, the data has shown that women are getting paid much less than their male counterparts here at Vassar. How has Vassar's administration responded to the allegations? The administration, after we wrote the Miscellany News, wrote our first article on the lawsuit discrimination. We had received a letter to the editor from President Bradley that, acknowledge these community concerns. And in that, she wrote that while she respects and these highly valued members of the Vassar community, they have a different understanding of the relevant facts,

is her words. And so she respects their decision to have their view educated in a court of law, but she cites that annual faculty salary increases are guided by faculty-led peer review processes. The professors did respond to that letter to the editor from President Bradley with a letter to the editor of their own. And it's a little bit difficult because amid open, litigation, the college can only say so much. And so a lot of what we have is coming from the professors and from the plaintiffs. You've mentioned the letters of support that colleagues of the plaintiffs have signed. So obviously it's something that folks are talking about on campus. What has been the reaction amongst students and other colleagues of the plaintiffs?

It's been quite incredible, to be honest with you. At such a small liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, the protests, which happened on September 13th, Wednesday, September 13th, September 13th, there were hundreds of students gathered outside the first faculty meeting where faculty administration would be together for the first time this year. And just seeing so many students gather outside in support and solidarity with their professors was really astonishing. And I remember speaking to a few of the professors at the protest. They were in tears saying that it's been amazing to see these students come out because it hasn't happened in so many years, this sort of show of student activism and their support for professors.

Where do we go from here? Do we have a timeline on the case? The public hasn't been made aware of any settlement anytime soon. The Miscellany News is going to continue to report on this. We actually have an article coming out Thursday tomorrow. And in that article, we'll talk about the most recent protests that happened last week, as well as plans for additional protests. The Organization Committee of the student protests is planning to next,

go towards admissions buildings and admissions tours to ensure that incoming students are aware of the ongoing litigation and that this doesn't, you know, slide out into the outside of the mainstream media. That's Jacques Abu Riesk, the editor-in-chief of Vassar College's student newspaper, The Miscellany News, speaking with WMYC's Sean Carlson. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. Catch us every weekday, three times a day. We'll be back tomorrow.