Striking Rutgers Teachers Also Want Affordable Housing For Students

NEWARK, NJ — When Rutgers University teachers and staff launched a massive, unprecedented strike on Monday, their list of demands included more pay, better job security and “equity” between all three campuses, including the one in Newark.

Their demands also include several provisions for their students, including more “affordable housing” and forgiveness for overdue fines and fees, union leaders say.

Thousands of faculty members, clinicians and other employees at Rutgers University took part in an unprecedented strike the day after Easter as contract talks with the university drag on. The work stoppage – which included thousands of part-time and full-time professors, graduate student workers, postdoctoral associates, counselors and biomedical faculty – marked the first strike in Rutgers' 257-year history.

Rutgers administrators said that classes are expected to proceed on a normal schedule, but according to a union spokesperson, the “vast majority” of classes were not being taught as of early Monday afternoon. Some Rutgers professors have chosen not to join the union, and they are apparently still teaching class this week.

Picket lines were planned at all three of the Rutgers campuses in New Brunswick, Newark and Camden on Monday. It’s not clear how long the strike will continue, although Gov. Phil Murphy said he is calling for a meeting to help hammer out an agreement that is “fair for all parties.”

• Read More: Rutgers University Strike (What It Means)
• Read More: Murphy Hosts Meeting With Rutgers Faculty, Admin As Strike Begins

Rutgers administrators say they’ve made several offers to the striking staffers, including salary increases. A Q&A posted to the university’s website alleges that the union action is “illegal,” and notes that Rutgers may seek a court injunction to force the striking employees back to work, although union spokespeople have contended that there is no statute outlawing such strikes in New Jersey.

To see the unions’ contract proposals and the administration’s responses, see this page for Rutgers AAUP-AFT, this page for the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union, and this page for AAUP-BHSNJ.

See the university’s website on the strike and ongoing negotiations here.

The union action may affect more than 67,000 students, many who are mere “weeks away from graduation,” Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway said on Sunday. According to the university, libraries, computer labs, student research/STEM labs, residence halls, bus service, dining, counseling and several other student services will remain open during the strike. Commencement and convocation ceremonies will continue to be held on all Rutgers campuses.

However, union spokespeople have pointed out that the educators’ list of demands isn’t only for themselves – it includes their students, too.

According to a statement from the striking workers, their demands include “affordable housing for students, members and our communities” and “forgiveness for students’ overdue fees and fines.”

Other demands include:

• “Equal pay for equal work for adjunct faculty”
• “Guaranteed funding and a living wage for graduate workers”
• “A fair salary increase that keeps up with inflation”
• “Job security for all faculty”
• “One union for all Rutgers educators, clinicians, and researchers”
• “Control over course scheduling and teaching and research conditions”
• “Affordable health insurance for all”
• “Equity for Rutgers-Camden and Rutgers-Newark”
• “Workload standards for medical clinical faculty”

According to Amy Higer, president of the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union, lifting the boats of professors and other crucial staff will also boost the people sitting in their classrooms.

“Management says a strike will harm students,” Higer said. “You know what really harms students? The high turnover rate that results from paying teachers poorly and making them reapply for their jobs every semester, as adjuncts have to.”

The Rutgers AAUP-AFT states on its website that a strike will be an “important teachable moment” for students:

“Strikes are effective because they are disruptive, and disruption inevitably causes short-term inconvenience. But the harm to students from our not striking may be far greater than short-term inconvenience. Many students are organizing already to support our contract demands because they know that our demands are for the good of our entire community. Our working conditions are students’ learning conditions. We are fighting to end precarity among instructors of all ranks, which means that students will benefit.”

Officials with the New Jersey Education Association supported the striking Rutgers workers, saying that they “applaud the efforts of Rutgers staff to advocate for students with their calls for fee waivers and housing affordability to ensure that the university remains accessible to all New Jersey residents.”

The strike has also found support with some students.

“I will not be going to class while the @ruaaup is on strike,” one student tweeted on Sunday. “Rutgers students have an important part to play in ensuring the success of the faculty strike, and we must do everything in our power to support the union.”

This article contains reporting by Nicole Rosenthal and Carly Baldwin, Patch staff

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