Union Challenges Layoffs After Sale Of Westminster Choir College

TRENTON, NJ — A federal judge has reportedly denied a request from the Rider chapter of the American Association of University Professors to hold up the sale of Westminster Choir College pending the outcome of an arbitration hearing.

The hearing will focus on the union’s dispute of the contractual validity of layoffs that were announced late last year, according to the union.

It is scheduled for March 29. The chapter was seeking an injunction to prevent any final agreement on the sale of the Westminster Choir College until the arbitration was resolved.

However, U.S. District Judge Peter B. Sheridan denied the request after hearing oral arguments in Trenton last Friday, according to the Princeton Packet. The union believes Rider’s financial situation isn’t as bad as the school claims, which is the reason Rider has given for the layoffs and the sale of the college.

The agreement between the union and the university states layoffs can only occur in the case of a financial exigency or the demonstrated financial need to eliminate or curtail programs.

In August, the Rider University Board of Trustees announced that an international partner has proposed to acquire Westminster Choir College and maintain the campus in Princeton. The partner has not been named and details of the sale have yet to be released.

The notices issued in October don’t necessarily mean staff are fired or laid off. It was sent in the event the sale isn’t consummated, according to the university.

The Packet reports that the potential buyer, described only as a group that operates K-12 schools in China, has expressed a willingness to rehire faculty.

Rider University announced its intention to sell the campus in March. The decision came after the university initially said it was looking to close the campus and consolidate it with the campus in Lawrenceville to help with some of the university's financial problems.

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