
Rutgers AAUP-AFT, the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union, and AAUP-BHSNJ are organizing together to win fair contracts, in solidarity with other unions—representing more than 15,000 Rutgers workers in all—whose previous contracts expired last summer. Our goal is to achieve a better Rutgers for everyone: our students and their families, staff, graduate workers, postdoctoral associates, clinicians, full-time and adjunct faculty, and communities surrounding our campuses.
What We Are Fighting For
- Equal pay for equal work for adjunct faculty
- Guaranteed funding and a living wage for graduate workers
- A fair salary increase that keeps up with inflation
- Job security for all faculty
- One union for all Rutgers educators, clinicians, and researchers
- Affordable housing for students, members, and our communities
- Forgiveness for students’ overdue fees and fines
- Control over course scheduling and teaching and research conditions
- Affordable health insurance for all
- Equity for Rutgers-Camden and Rutgers-Newark
- Workload standards for medical clinical faculty
To see the unions’ contract proposals and the administration’s responses, see this page for Rutgers AAUP-AFT, this page for the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union, and this page for AAUP-BHSNJ.
Who We Are
The three unions representing educators, researchers, and clinicians at Rutgers are working together toward a common set of demands and a single contract. Currently, Rutgers AAUP-AFT (American Association of University Professors-American Federation of Teachers) represents more than 5,000 full-time faculty, graduate workers, postdoctoral associates, and Educational Opportunity Fund counselors. The Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union (PTLFC-AAUP-AFT) represents some 2,700 Part-Time Lecturers. AAUP-BHSNJ (American Association of University Professors–Biomedical and Health Sciences of New Jersey) represents 1,300 health science faculty in RBHS facilities and schools.
Interviews and Contacts
We encourage the media to interview any union member they wish. We ask that you understand that individuals don’t speak for their union as a whole and may not have experience talking to the press. We will be glad to help if you want to arrange interviews with members not named on this page or in media statements: email Alan Maass at amaass@rutgersaaup.org, Molly Earner at mearner@rutgersaaup.org (for adjunct union-specific requests), or Anthony Campisi at anthony@ceislermedia.com (for biomedical faculty-specific requests).
Photos and Graphics Available for Publication
Click here for a folder containing photos, videos, and graphics that are available for use by the media. Photos must be credited to the person named in the file name. Graphics should be credited to Rutgers AAUP-AFT.
Facts about the Contract Campaign
Contracts for all of the dozen unions currently without one expired last summer (almost all expired on June 30). Bargaining for new agreements began in May, and the unions presented almost all of their proposals by mid-summer. As of the end of March, the Rutgers administration had still not responded to some proposals made 10 months earlier. Others were rejected without explanation. Some progress was made on smaller issues in early April, but the unions consider the counter-offers they have received inadequate on most substantial issues. See the web pages linked above for information on the current status of bargaining.
Rutgers AAUP-AFT and the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union began votes on strike authorization on February 28. Some 94 percent of members who cast a ballot voted yes to empower union leadership bodies to call a strike if necessary to achieve the unions’ goals for a fair contract. Turnout for the vote was 80 percent. AAUP-BHSNJ launched a strike authorization vote on March 9—95 percent of members who voted chose to authorize strike action.
This strike is the first by Rutgers educators in the university’s 257-year history. It would also be the first strike to involve tenured and tenure-track faculty at a Big Ten university. There is no statute outlawing public-sector strikes in New Jersey. Click here to read our answers to frequently asked questions about a possible strike at Rutgers.
Recent Media Statements
- Rutgers Unions are “Out of Patience” in Their Fight for Fair Contracts
- Rutgers Educators Vote 94 Percent to Authorize First-Ever Strike
- Unions Representing Rutgers Educators Launch Vote on Strike Authorization
- Rutgers Unions Ask: Millions for Coaches, Nothing for Professors and Staff?
- Rutgers Unions to Rally for Fair Contracts on December 6
- Students, Faculty, Grad Workers, and Staff Join Together for Climate Justice and a Better Rutgers
- Rutgers physicians, researchers, and other health science faculty overwhelmingly approve strike
Click here for a full archive of union media statements.
Other Union Resources
Rutgers AAUP-AFT
- Bargaining Status at a Glance (includes a summary of union proposals and management responses)
- 2023 Strike FAQ (answers to members’ frequently asked questions)
- Member News (archive of union updates and messages to members
Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union
- C2022/2023 Contract Campaign (includes a summary of union proposals and management responses)
- Member News (archive of bargaining updates and other official union messages)
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Science Faculty Union (AAUP-BHSNJ)
- Contract Campaign page (includes a summary of union proposals and management responses)
Articles by Our Members
- Sudip Bhattacharya, Public Universities Run on Underpaid Labor. Now Grad Workers Are Fighting Back.
- Deepa Kumar, One of US’s Largest Public Universities Could See First Strike in Its 257 Years
- Interview with Donna Murch and Todd Wolfson, Higher Ed Industrial Unionism
- Rebecca Givan and Amy Higer, Don’t Believe the Scary Talk, Deficits Aren’t on the Horizon at Rutgers.
- Hank Kalet, Adjuncts: The Gig Workers of Higher Education
- Amy Higer and Rebecca Givan, Rutgers’ Adjunct Professors Deserve Equal Pay for Equal Work
- Sebastian León, Todd Wolfson, and Anjali Madgula, Connecting Campus to Community: The New Shop Floor in Higher Education
- Hank Kalet, Why We Speak
- Rebecca Givan, Why Is There One Rule for Sports at Rutgers and Another for Everyone Else?
- Jim Brown, One Rutgers Campus Is Not Feeling “Beloved”
- Donna Murch and Todd Wolfson, Reclaiming Paul Robeson in the Time of COVID-19
Click here to read more articles by our members.
Social Media and Websites
Please follow us and retweet, like, and share our posts.
Rutgers AAUP-AFT
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/RUaaup
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruaaup
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/rutgersaaup
- YouTube: https://rutgersaaup.org/YouTube
- Website: https://rutgersaaup.org
Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rutgersptlfc
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruaaup_ptl
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/ruaaup_ptl
- Website: https://rutgers-ptlfc.org
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Science Faculty Union (AAUP-BHSNJ)
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RUaaupbhsnj/
- Twitter:https://twitter.com/abhsnj
- Website: https://aaupbhsnj.org/
Please use our hashtags for social media: #FairContractNow #EqualPayForEqualWork #RUStrikeReady