Takeaway: 1) Click here to send a letter to top management protesting a breach of our new contracts on the funding of raises. 2) If you are a Principal Investigator or grant-based researcher, fill out a survey about raises incorrectly paid from previously budgeted grants.
Dear colleague,
The Rutgers administration has sent a memo stating that departments and schools would be responsible for funding raises for grant-based faculty, postdocs and graduate assistants represented by our union. This is in direct violation of our new contracts. While the memo does at least make it clear that grant funds can’t be raided to pay for raises, our contract clearly states that “the University shall fund contractual salary increases for unit members on grants” beyond what is already budgeted for in the grants or by departments.
Departments and schools have other union positions they are responsible for—“state-funded” faculty positions, teaching assistants, and lecturers (formerly PTLs). Due to the RCM budget model, funds have been drained from the department and school levels, which is why we negotiated the language we did on central funding of raises.
We actually reviewed a copy of the memo before it went out and corrected it so it wouldn’t violate our contract; click here to read how the memo should have read. The administration ignored our corrections. To see the full contract language in question, read this recent message to members.
If we don’t mobilize to defend our contract, the impact on research at Rutgers will be dire. We ask you to send a message to President Holloway and other top management responsible for this, calling on them to rescind this memo and commit to following our contract’s language on the central funding of raises. Click here to write those messages—and then share the link with colleagues.
We are also preparing a grievance to stop this contract violation. We need data on raises that have been incorrectly paid from previously budgeted grants. If you are a PI or grant-based researcher, we urge you to fill out this form now and ask your colleagues to do so as well. We need the evidence to make our effort to enforce our contract as strong as possible.
In solidarity,
Becky and Todd
Rebecca Givan, President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Todd Wolfson, General Vice President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
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