Upcoming Events:
- Tuesday, December 6: All Out Mobilization for a Fair Contract (in New Brunswick, Newark, Camden, and Piscataway; see times and location details below). Fill out this form to tell us you’re coming.
- TODAY at 5:30pm: Town Hall Forum on Grad Worker Issues. Click here to RSVP.
Dear colleague,
Yesterday’s bargaining session marked six months that our unions have been at the table—and management is STILL saying no to our main demands. Enough! When our unions won victories in the past, it was because we were ready to take action. It’s that time again. We’re mobilizing in New Brunswick, Newark, Camden, and Piscataway on Tuesday, December 6, to show the administration and Board of Governors that they have a fight on their hands. Please fill out this form to tell us you’re coming.
Because our contract expired in July, none of us got a raise this year—at a time of historic inflation. Management hasn’t bothered to respond to our proposal for a fair salary increase that keeps up with inflation and a living wage for grad workers. But we do know what they offered our EOF counselor colleagues: a 2.25 percent raise in the first year and 2 percent in the next three years—with the raises deferred by six months each year!
This is what management has in store for us, and it’s a gross insult after our sacrifices during the pandemic. Meanwhile, the administration was sitting on a growing pile of money, with unrestricted financial reserves jumping by over 60 percent to a new high in 2020–21—the same year they laid off 1,000 staff and demanded budget cuts. And to add insult to injury, management did make one new proposal at yesterday’s session: a provision that would give them more options for disciplining us, with an expedited process for carrying it out.
As the great abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass taught us, “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did, and it never will.” It’s time to start demanding. Please join us at one of the actions next Tuesday. Make plans to come with your colleagues and raise your voice together. If you’re teaching at that time, you can ask your students to observe the action or join you as you move class outside. If you want a slide to share with students explaining our battle, use this one made by our allies in the Rutgers One student-union alliance.
Location details on December 6
- College Ave Campus, New Brunswick, 11:30 a.m.: Meet at Voorhees Mall (between Murray and Van Wyck Halls, off College Avenue) and march to Winants Hall (7 College Ave.)
- Camden Campus, 12:30 p.m.: Meet outside Camden Campus Center
- Newark Campus, 11:30 a.m.: Meet outside Robeson Campus Center
- Busch Campus, Piscataway, 11:30 a.m.: Meet between the Richard Weeks Hall of Engineering and McLaren Center for Ceramics Research
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/
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See the updates from each bargaining session.
Read about the proposals we’re putting forward in bargaining.
Find the latest messages to members and union statements here.
Read our FAQ: Know Your Contract, Know Your Rights!