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NYC profs see Supreme Court as 'only hope' in fight with 'antisemitic' teachers union

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NYC profs see Supreme Court as 'only hope' in fight with 'antisemitic' teachers union

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A group of City University of New York (CUNY) professors are suing a teachers union they say promotes antisemitism, waging a legal battle in which they believe the Supreme Court could be their “only hope.”

New York State law requires that even if one chooses to leave a teachers union, they still have to remain members of a collective bargaining unit represented by the union.That unit effectively controls pay raises, benefits, leave and other policies both for union and nonunion faculty.

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In 2021, one such teachers union, Professional Staff Congress/CUNY (PSC), adopted a “Resolution in Support of the Palestinian People” which the group of six professors viewed as antisemitic, anti-Jewish and anti-Israel. These professors chose to then resign from the union, but under state law are still required to affiliate with and be represented in bargaining by that same union. 

“My family and I suffered severe anti-Semitic harassment and persecution at the hands of the Soviet Union for over fifteen years,” professor of mathematics Avraham Goldstein said in a statement. “I hoped it was all in my past. But now I am forced to associate with a union that makes anti-Semitic political statements in my name without my permission or consent.” 

GRANDSON OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS BLAMES COLLEGES AFTER STUDENTS PROTEST AT VIGIL FOR SLAIN ISRAELIS

CUNY Professor Avraham Goldstein is one of six professors challenging New York’s law that forces him to be represented by a union. (Credit: The Fairness Center)

The Supreme Court in 2018 issued a decision in a case called Janus v. AFSCMEwhich said nonmember public employees could not be forced to pay fees to a union, as doing so would violate their First Amendment rights.

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But right before the high court decided Janus, New York amended what’s known as the Taylor Law – the law governing public-sector collective bargaining in the state – to reduce the duties public-sector unions owed to nonmembers. 

Prior to the Taylor law, unions were required to fairly represent both members and nonmembers. 

The Fairness Center, a nonprofit public interest law firm representing the professors, says that with amendments to the Taylor Law, “unions like the PSC are free to treat nonmembers, like these professors, as second-class employees, offering them inferior services compared to members.”

“Plaintiffs’ forced inclusion in their bargaining unit does a disservice to them and causes them to be disadvantaged in their terms and conditions of employment and in their relations with their fellow employees and the general public,” the professors’ brief states. 

The professors, all but one of whom are Jewish, are suing the union, the university and the city, citing the First and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. 

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“[T]he ongoing deprivation of rights… caused by state statutes and Defendants’ contracts, policies, and practices that designate PSC as Plaintiffs’ exclusive bargaining representative with their Employer, force Plaintiffs into a defined bargaining unit with others who do not share the same interests, and require some Plaintiffs to continue to financially subsidize PSC’s speech even though they have resigned their membership in the union,” the legal filing reads. 

CUNY PROFESSOR RIPS GRADUATION SPEAKER’S ‘DISGUSTING’ ANTI-ISRAEL, ANTI-POLICE TIRADE: ‘WORST’ I’VE EVER HEARD

A protester stomps on an Israeli flag during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Midtown Manhattan on Nov. 2, 2023, outside the CUNY chancellor’s office. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)

“PSC’s designation as exclusive bargaining representative and Plaintiffs’ mandatory inclusion in a bargaining unit violate Plaintiffs’ speech, petitioning, and associational rights under the First Amendment,” it continues. 

The case was filed in a district court in 2022. In November of last year, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the case, and is expected to issue an opinion in the coming weeks. If it doesn’t go their way, the professors say they will appeal their case to the Supreme Court. 

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“I think our only hope is the U.S. Supreme Court,” Professor Jeffrey Lax told Fox News Digital in an interview.

“And my message would be to the Supreme Court… we’re not just trying to take a position that’s different than the union’s. We’re not just saying that the union’s views towards Jewish people are abhorrent to us. That’s not why we’re saying we want to leave this union,” said Lax.

Lax, a descendant of Holocaust survivors, said he believes the antisemitic underpinnings of the union are based on Marxist teachings, to which members of the union subscribe. 

CUNY LAW STUDENT BREAKS SILENCE ON ‘EVIL’ ‘ANTI-AMERICAN’ COMMENCEMENT SPEECH: ‘WOULD NOT CHANGE SINGLE WORD’

The Fairness Center is representing six CUNY professors fighting their teachers union. (Credit: The Fairness Center)

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Lax said he is “not surprised” to see the uptick in antisemitic activism on college campuses following the devastating attacks in Israel on Oct. 7 carried out by Hamas terrorists, because antisemitic ideology has been simmering on campuses for years. And he says the unions are in part to blame, promoting anti-Israel demonstrations on campus.

“These unions have almost limitless funds. They’re not using it to bargain, they’re not using it to help their employees’ better salaries or working conditions… they’re doing it for political and ideological gain and to indoctrinate students.” Lax said.

Returning a request for comment Friday, a spokesperson for the union told Fox News Digital in an emailed statement that “[t]he Goldstein lawsuit is meritless.”

“It has been brought by members of the CUNY faculty who are not members of the PSC and who are funded by the anti-union National Right to Work Legal Foundation in another attempt to eliminate unions,” the statement reads. “Representing every worker in a shop is fundamental to a union’s power. It’s what makes the workers’ power collective and gives them the combined strength to win better pay and working conditions.”

“The core question of the suit has been answered,” the statement added.

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The resolution at the center of the suit adopted by the union in 2021 termed “the continued subjection of Palestinians to the state-supported displacement, occupation, and use of lethal force by Israel,” and required chapter-level discussion of possible support by PSC for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions – or BDS – movement.

Lax said that while “it is true the union’s opinion about Jewish people, and Zionism and Zionist Jews are abhorrent to us,” that’s not the main crux of his case. 

“The main thing is that by forcing us to be part of the bargaining unit, they force us to allow them to bargain for our working conditions, and they don’t care about the pervasive antisemitism that we’re all seeing that’s going on right now at universities across the country, and it is the worst at my university,” he said. 

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Northeast

Rhode Island teacher accused of sexting, kissing high school boy

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Rhode Island teacher accused of sexting, kissing high school boy

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A married high school physical education teacher has been indicted on two counts of third-degree sexual assault after being accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a male student. 

Alisha Crins is accused of exchanging sexually suggestive messages and engaging in sexual contact with the student while he was enrolled at Ponaganset High School in Rhode Island as a 17-year-old, according to an affidavit cited by WPRI.

The investigation began after the former student filed a formal complaint with Rhode Island State Police in October, the documents obtained by WPRI show.

According to the affidavit, the student told investigators Crins began texting him while he was a sophomore after allegedly finding his cellphone number online.

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A sign marks the main entrance to Ponaganset High School in Rhode Island. (Google Maps)

He said she initially asked him to do work for her while she was on vacation, but the two continued communicating through text messages and social media after that plan fell through.

The student alleged the relationship escalated during his junior year. He told investigators Crins frequently complimented his appearance and once asked to wear his jersey during a school pep rally.

He further alleged Crins invited him to meet near her Cranston home, where they kissed inside his vehicle. During a later encounter, she allegedly climbed into the back seat and engaged in sexual contact, according to the affidavit. The student denied having sexual intercourse with her.

The alleged assaults took place between April 1, 2024, and June 30, 2024, according to WJAR.

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HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL COACH CHARGED WITH RAPING FOSTER DAUGHTER, SERVING VICTIM TEQUILA SHOTS: REPORT

A Rhode Island State Police cruiser parked near a waterfront with boats visible in the background. (Rhode Island State Police Facebook)

When questioned by investigators, Crins denied “getting physical” beyond a single kiss but admitted to flirting and exchanging text messages that contained “sexual innuendos,” the affidavit states.

She also acknowledged sending photos and videos and told investigators the two discussed plans to have sex once he turned 18, though she said they never acted on those plans.

The Foster-Glocester Regional School District said Crins resigned from her role at the school Oct. 1, 2025, according to WJAR.

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File image of a woman texting. According to an affidavit, the student told investigators Crins began texting him while he was a sophomore after allegedly finding his cellphone number online. (iStock)

In a statement obtained by the outlet, the district said it is cooperating with authorities and referred further inquiries to state police.

Fox News Digital has reached out to state police for comment.

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Teacher pleads guilty to sexually abusing 15-year-old student weeks after giving birth: report

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Boston, MA

When did Southie get richy-rich? – The Boston Globe

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When did Southie get richy-rich? – The Boston Globe


Write to us at startingpoint@globe.com. To subscribe, sign up here.


Born and raised in Southie, Heather Foley has seen her neighborhood morph over the past three decades of scrubbing, renovation, and new construction for higher-income new arrivals.

But even Foley was surprised to discover that her South Boston, where kids once went to the corner to buy milk and cigarettes for parents, has emerged with the city’s second-highest average income, even ahead of Charlestown and Beacon Hill.

Her first thought?: “I gotta start being nicer to my neighbors if that’s the kind of money they’re making.”

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What’s a household?

Decades ago, when “Good Will Hunting” was filmed in the neighborhood and Southie was known as a working-class area, there were more kids around and maybe just a single breadwinner in some homes.

Since then, Southie saw more two-earner households, fewer kids, and spiffier rental units where three or four roommates could contribute to a “household.” The changes, along with spillover from the adjacent, pricier Seaport, or South Boston waterfront, are factors in Census data showing more than 40 percent of Southie households earn more than $200,000 a year.

Staying put

Foley, 46, a photo shoot producer, considers herself lucky. She didn’t move out to the South Shore like many neighborhood longtimers. She’s living in a family home on a block with residents — oldtimers and newer arrivals — who aren’t flipping properties for big bucks.

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Another blessing, particularly valuable this winter? She has a driveway.

As a kid, she went to church and school at Gate of Heaven, St. Brigid, and St. Peter, and jokes that she’s “so sad I didn’t buy a three-decker with my First Communion money, because I probably could have.”

Waves of gentrification

She remembers the earlier waves of newcomers, when glassy sports bars like Stats Bar & Grille muscled in among longtime restaurants like Amrheins.

But now, even the popular Stats is moving out at the end of the month. The property owner is developing a five-story, mixed-use residential building at the site.

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A small silver lining

Foley notes that some of the onetime “newcomers” have been here for three decades — and in some ways, have stabilized the place. Many have raised kids, who, like her son, may return to the neighborhood as young adults (albeit splitting a rented apartment with friends). Stats, the sports bar, says it will also return to the neighborhood’s thriving food scene.

“We have a lot of great restaurants now,” Foley says, “and everyone cleans up after their dog.”

Read: These maps show Boston’s wealthiest and most populous neighborhoods — plus other key trends.


🧩 6 Across: More scarce | 🌧️ 42° Another storm

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Farewell advice: After nearly 15 years of health system leadership, the departing CEO of Beth Israel Lahey Health offers this advice to others.

Hitting the brakes? After an ambitious state law, Lexington welcomed a wave of new housing. Now, people there are having second thoughts.

Hyde Park fatal bus crash: The driver has been indicted.

Patriots, strippers, and hookahs: A downtown restaurant’s liquor license is in jeopardy after it allegedly hosted Patriots players and guests after their AFC Championship in January. A decision is expected today.

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‘Culture of secrecy’: In a scathing report, R.I. authorities accused the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence of decades of “inaction, concealment, and revictimization” in complaints of clergy sexual abuse of hundreds of children.

Centers of suffering, campaigning: Federal immigration facilities have become backdrops for Democratic politicians seeking to fight President Trump’s immigration policies.

‘The best time to remember God’: Amid crackdowns, the Somali community leans into faith during Ramadan.

When is a reno worth it? Here’s how to judge the return on a home investment.


TED — TV fun in the 1990s, Framingham. Pictured, from left: Max Burkholder as John, Seth MacFarlane as the voice of Ted, Scott Grimes as Matty.Peacock

🧸 ‘Ted’ talk: Seth MacFarlane and the “Ted” cast talk Massholes, potty-mouthed teddy bears, and why Boston may have “the worst accent”

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🩰 A ‘Black Swan’ premiere: That’s among 30 sparkling arts events happening this spring around New England. Plus, why are more artists being banned from America?

🎥 Quiz: Test yourself with the Globe’s Academy Awards quiz.

⚽ Will $7.8 million stop the World Cup from coming here? Can Foxborough’s insistence on up-front security payments force the world’s soccer governing body to send matches somewhere else this summer?

♯ Teenage dreams: The future rock stars were teenagers when they wrote songs, influenced by David Bowie and Stevie Wonder, about a fictional nightclub. A half-century later, Squeeze has reworked and is releasing those songs.

💻 Death by chatbot? A new lawsuit alleges Google’s chatbot sent a man on missions to find an android body it could inhabit. When that failed, it set a suicide countdown clock for him. (WSJ)

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🍕 And a red cup, please: Fans are tracking down the few Pizza Hut Classic red-roofed restaurants that remain in the 6,200-store chain. (NYT)


Thanks for reading Starting Point.

This newsletter was edited by Heather Ciras and produced by Ryan Orlecki.

❓ Have a question for the team? Email us at startingpoint@globe.com.

✍🏼 If someone sent you this newsletter, you can sign up for your own copy.

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Dave Beard can be reached at dave.beard@gmail.com. Follow him on X @dabeard.





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Pittsburg, PA

As his polarizing Pitt career winds down, a banged-up Cam Corhen has saved his best for last

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As his polarizing Pitt career winds down, a banged-up Cam Corhen has saved his best for last






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