Rider U. Faculty Threaten Strike As Students Prepare Return To Campus

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ — The Rider Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) voted to strike after they failed to reach "a fair and equitable contract.”

The vote came after a long-drawn bargaining session that went late into Wednesday night. The AAUP and Rider officials failed to reach an agreement on key economic issues, the group said. One more bargaining session is scheduled for Friday.

On Thursday, the Rider AAUP chapter held a silent protest on campus during President Gregory G. Dell’Omo’s convocation.

If no agreement is reached on Friday, The Rider AAUP will conduct informational picketing on Sept. 4 and 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. just as students begin to move in to start the fall semester. The second information picketing is scheduled for Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. during the new student convocation.

The union claims the administration has threatened to remove their collective bargaining rights, if members don't agree to do more work for less pay and will formally petition the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to bar all full-time faculty from being represented by the AAUP.

The AAUP said its goal is to make small incremental improvements in the contract, but the “administration’s goal is to fundamentally alter the working conditions of faculty by increasing their workload and slashing their compensation.”

“The faculty at Rider have had enough. We have made a number of concessions since 2015 to help Rider survive, but at this point, it is clear the biggest problem facing Rider is its current administration,” Rider AAUP President David Dewberry said. “We are unwilling to subsidize this administration’s poor management of Rider University. We’d like to make a deal at the table. If not, you will see the membership marching in front of Rider on Route 206.”

The AAUP said they refuse to be intimidated by threats and are trying to avoid a strike through negotiations.

“The AAUP has made substantial sacrifices over the last seven years; the time has come to recognize those sacrifices and for the administration to stop trying to make the faculty pay for its mistakes,” Jeff Halpern, AAUP’s chief negotiator said.

Meanwhile, the University said they are bargaining with the union in “good faith.” Rider said it continues to face challenges that affect the competitiveness and sustainability of its financial model.

A renegotiated labor contract with the union would help the University achieve short-term cost reductions and longer-term structural adjustments, Rider said. This would also help provide bargaining unit members competitive terms and conditions of employment.

“The University is seeking to achieve savings in a variety of ways through the collective bargaining negotiations with the AAUP. Rider’s faculty compensation rates generally remain ahead of regional peer institutions. Under current conditions, the University does not believe it is feasible for Rider to maintain a cost of instruction higher than our peer institutions,” Kristine Brown, Associate Vice President for University Marketing & Communications, told Patch.

“The University has significantly and consistently increased the institutional investment in student financial aid over the past decade to provide an affordable tuition, at the expense of reducing net revenue.”

The AAUP has been locked in a battle with the University for some time now. In June, Rider announced it was cutting down on staff and eliminating a few programs as part of its "cost-savings and reorganization program." More: Rider University Cuts Jobs, Slashes Programs Citing Deficit

The AAUP has maintained that Rider's fiscal difficulties are not the result of excessive labor costs but years of mismanagement. More: Rider Faculty Condemns Job Cuts, Program Closures At University

If there is a strike, it would be the second in Rider’s history - the first occurred in 1974.

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