We recently wrote to you about President Tate’s announcement of a university-wide hiring freeze and the serious concerns it raised for staff, faculty, graduate workers, and the university’s core academic mission. We have previously made clear that we plan to challenge the policy at every opportunity.
Today, we are writing with an important update.
Following sustained advocacy by our unions—including public pressure, direct conversations with university leadership, and continued engagement at the bargaining table—Rutgers has issued implementation guidance that includes significant exceptions to the hiring freeze.
Most importantly, the University has confirmed that all appointments for Lecturer faculty, Winter/Summer instructors, Postdoctoral Associates, and Teaching/Graduate Assistants will be exempt from the FY2027 hiring freeze, and that reappointments and promotions for tenure-track and NTT faculty will continue under pre-existing practices and will not require exception requests. These exemptions and clarifications were negotiated by our unions to remove uncertainty for thousands of Rutgers academic workers whose appointments depend on regular hiring and reappointment cycles.
But our work is far from over. While the updated guidance includes important protections, there are still uncertainties that will need to be addressed through exception processes:
- All current recruitments need CLU approval to continue, and require an exception request approval prior to extending a verbal or written job offer
- All new recruitments after July 9, 2026 are suspended and must follow the exception approval process
- Positions that support mission critical activities
- Positions that are 100% supported by extramural research funds
- Positions with 100% guaranteed external funding
- Start-up funds with a balance supported with external dollars that will not impact ongoing operating expenses in the future
While these exceptions are important, they still require departments and faculty to navigate an additional approval process that creates unnecessary delays and uncertainty. Most importantly, the hiring freeze itself remains in effect while bargaining continues and our core demands—including stronger job security, fair workloads, and meaningful protections for all faculty—remain unmet at the bargaining table.
This moment reminds all of us why the strength of our unions matters. Right now, even these protections are not permanent, they are still administrative decisions that can be changed. Our goal in bargaining is to win strong, clear, enforceable contract language that protects Rutgers faculty regardless of who occupies administrative offices or makes budget decisions in the future.
Our ability to secure these important protections was made possible by using our collective voice; our ability to win solid contractual protections at the bargaining table depends on the strength of our numbers and collective power. Get involved today.
- If you are not a union member: Join today.
- If you are already a member: Sign onto our contract demands.
- Talk to your colleagues and get more involved—it is important that we continue to build our power over the summer: Join one of our summer organizing trainings to get prepared for the fight ahead.
In solidarity,
Becky, Cathy, and HP
Rebecca Givan, President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Dr. Catherine Monteleone, President, AAUP-BHSNJ
Heather Pierce, President, Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union