Takeaway: Join us at the first chapter meetings of the semester:
- Camden: Thursday, January 20, 12:45 p.m. Click here to RSVP
- Newark: Wednesday, January 26, 2:45 p.m. Click here to RSVP
- New Brunswick: Friday, February 4, 10 a.m. Click here to RSVP
Dear colleague,
With close to two years of the pandemic behind us, another semester is nevertheless beginning with uncertainty and concerns. We hope you were able to enjoy the break and get some rest, though we know the Omicron variant upended many plans. We remain thankful for everything you’ve done—especially those of you bearing the extra, unacknowledged burdens of caregiving—to keep our students, our colleagues and community, and your families safe and whole.
The administration’s decision to return to remote instruction and work through at least the end of the month was the only responsible one given the dire state of the pandemic, but we know going online only added to your workload and stress levels. Please contact us at aaup@rutgersaaup.org if you have questions about your rights and responsibilities during this period or if you have ideas and suggestions for what our union can do. We want to be back in the classroom, but only when our classrooms are safe.
Our website’s “Questions and Answers about Health and Safety” has been updated with the latest information. That should be your first stop if you have questions or concerns. We are also urging the administration to take additional measures to protect our health if and when in-person instruction and work begin. For example, we’ve called on Rutgers to mandate and distribute N95, KN95, or KF94 masks for all students, staff, and faculty. Fortunately, the administration adopted a booster vaccine mandate and committed to free weekly testing for anyone required to be on campus—two measures our union called for in December.
This semester, our campaign for our next contract will begin in earnest. Thank you to the nearly 2,000 of you who completed our bargaining survey in November and December. We’ll be sharing the results in the next few weeks and organizing opportunities for all of us to discuss them and develop the demands we want to make in bargaining.
The first union gatherings to look out for will be meetings of all three chapters. We need you there to talk about our response to today’s health and safety challenges and to plan our organizing for the semester:
- Camden: Thursday, January 20, 12:45 p.m. Click here to RSVP
- Newark: Wednesday, January 26, 2:45 p.m. Click here to RSVP
- New Brunswick: Friday, February 4, 10 a.m.. Click here to RSVP
In solidarity,
Becky and Todd
Rebecca Givan, President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Todd Wolfson, General Vice President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Rutgers AAUP-AFT Facebook page: https://facebook.com/RUaaup/
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @ruaaup
Freedom School YouTubeChannel: https://rutgersaaup.org/YouTube
Find the latest messages to members and union statements here.
Read our FAQ: Know Your Contract, Know Your Rights!