Rutgers Teachers, Staff Rally For Contracts In Newark, Other Campuses

NEWARK, NJ — Hundreds of Rutgers University faculty, staff and students gathered for a pro-worker rally in Newark on Tuesday, hoping to “send a message” to administrators as contract negotiations drag on, union leaders said.

Rallies also took place at the other two main Rutgers campuses in New Brunswick and Camden.

Several of the largest unions at Rutgers have been in negotiations with administrators for nearly half a year, seeking to replace the work agreements that expired this summer. But union leaders allege that all they’ve heard is “no or nothing at all” about major proposals for contracts that will govern their salaries, benefits, and working conditions for the next four years.

Rutgers AAUP-AFT shared a list of their requests, which can be seen here.

A Rutgers University spokesperson gave Patch a statement about the ongoing negotiations in the wake of Tuesday’s rallies:

“We continue to negotiate in good faith and on a regular basis with Rutgers' unions. All mandatorily negotiable issues related to those employee contracts will be discussed at the negotiating table with the appropriate bargaining team representatives from the administration and the unions.”

However, some union members have accused Rutgers administrators of “dragging their feet” when it comes to keeping talks going.

“We made a series of proposals last spring around critical issues and needs that will make a better Rutgers for everyone—our students, staff, grad workers, faculty, our communities,” said Rebecca Givan, president of the Rutgers American Association of University Professors-American Federation of Teachers.

“It’s completely unacceptable that the administration has dragged its feet for months in even talking about our main demands,” Givan continued.

Givan pointed to research from union members that claims Rutgers came out of the pandemic in its “best financial shape ever” thanks to coronavirus relief funds from the federal government and strong state appropriations. But at the same time, the administration laid off more than 1,000 workers and imposed budget cuts, advocates say.

• See related article: NJ Unions Say Revamped Deal With Rutgers Will Stop Layoffs

“We all sacrificed during the pandemic, and meanwhile, the administration was sitting on a growing pile of money,” Givan said. “That’s money that has to be used now to meet the urgent needs that are so glaringly obvious.”

“Rutgers works because we do,” Givan urged. “And we have the power to make it stop working, too, if that’s what it takes to get the administration to pay attention.”

• See related article: Rutgers University Will Raise Tuition; $5.1B Budget Approved

Other union leaders at the university also pushed for more attention from administrators on Tuesday.

Amy Higer, president of the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union, said the administration has failed for months to respond to the union’s proposals for greater job security and the same pay per credit hour for doing the same teaching work as full-time faculty.

“Rutgers part-time lecturers teach tens of thousands of students every semester,” Higer said. “We teach the exact same courses as full-time faculty, and yet we’re paid a fraction of what they earn.”

Catherine Monteleone, president of the American Association of University Professors, Biomedical and Health Sciences of New Jersey, said the union wants a contract that stops Rutgers from hiring nonunion faculty through its association with RWJBarnabas Health to replace unionized faculty.

“Rutgers has met with us exactly three times since our contract expired at the end of July—nearly four months ago,” Monteleone said. “The administration is clearly not interested in good faith negotiations.”

• See related article: Rutgers' Unionized Healthcare Workers Accuse School Of Union Busting

Christine O’Connell, president of the Union of Rutgers Administrators-AFT, said that their union’s primary concerns involve “telework and overwork.”

O’Connell said that she and nearly 2,500 administrative staff throughout the Rutgers system are getting tired of having extra work dumped in their laps – without extra pay.

“Our members are taking on a significantly greater volume of work, due to retention and recruitment problems at Rutgers, with no additional compensation,” O’Connell said. “We want clear definitions and methods to compensate our members when there are vacancies and additional work is reassigned to them.”

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