The Monday session on March 20 began with a discussion on the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union’s proposed Article 6 (on appointments) and Article 12. The chief purposes of the union’s latest proposals is to make sure procedures for adjunct advancement have a different process than evaluations for advancement. Union leaders made the point that adjuncts are more vulnerable than other educators, so review processes must avoid baking in bias.
The union proposal for Article 12 on appointments is designed to address members’ need for job security, as well as students’ need for continuity of instruction.
Management’s representatives presented a new counteroffer on salaries that will be offered to all unions. The new offer is for raises of 3 percent in the first two years of the contract and 2.75 percent in the third and fourth years, with a 1.5 percent lump sum payment in each of the first two years. They removed the demand that raises be deferred for three (previously six months).
In raises over four years, this amounts to just a 0.75 percent increase over the administration’s previous offer, plus an additional 2 percent in lump payments in years one and two. This is still a wage cut at the current rate of inflation. And the administration continues to reject ANY additional increase for graduate workers.
Management also presented a counteroffer to our proposal on Article 27 covering Non-Tenure-Track Faculty, which generally fell short—sometimes far short—of what the union has proposed. Our representatives countered that the administration’s changes would penalize some PTLs and delay a move to longer terms, which is a high priority for the union.
The Tuesday session on March 21 continued work on the union’s proposal on Infosilem and course scheduling. Our proposals insist that people must not be expected to be fully available to teach from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. every day; more flexibility is needed. Another issue that occupied time on Tuesday and the day before is union proposals on parking which are intended to promote environmental priorities and reduce the high cost of parking permits.
The above is a report from a bargaining session for our next contract. After each session, our union will provide an update, written by a rotating cast of member-observers who are sitting in on negotiations. Click here for a full archive of Bargaining Updates.