Dear colleague,
Our contracts expired today. We are officially working without a contract. While we are still covered by our expired contracts, we won’t get a raise until we get a new one. Our unified bargaining team has been hard at work presenting proposals to management since March, but we have yet to hear counters on most of our major proposals. We are committed to bargaining a fair contract, and that means preparing this summer to fight for the demands that will improve the working conditions of our members and learning conditions of our students when we return in the fall. Check out our Contract Campaign Resource page to read bargaining updates and follow along with our bargaining tracker.
Our unions are ahead of where we were at this point in our last contract campaign. For the past year, our members have expressed concerns over our core issues, and our bargaining team has been soliciting feedback and developing proposals that we believe will build a stronger university that works for all of us. We are committed to fighting for our future: a future where Lecturers can work with dignity and security, where all members of our unions are treated equitably, where our courses are taught by real humans and there are reasonable guardrails around AI, and where research funding is guaranteed. We are equally committed to defending our communities: through strengthening commitments to diversity and equity, ensuring safe working and living environments on our campuses, and upholding principles of academic freedom.
We believe our demands are fair and reasonable. Rutgers claims it doesn’t have the money, but our research shows the university is in a better financial position than they project, and their healthcare partners at RWJBarnabas continue to increase revenue. Check out the recording from our “Open the Books” event with Howard Bunsis to learn more about the current state of Rutgers’ finances.
It will take all of us working together to build the Rutgers we all deserve. With that in mind, we need to talk with our colleagues about the state of our contract campaign and strengthen our union membership so we can build power at the table. Join your union colleagues this summer for a Zoom training to practice having effective organizing conversations. See the training schedule and register below to get more involved!
Thursday, July 9, at 12pm – Register here.
Tuesday, August 18, at 12pm – Register here.
Wednesday, August 19, at 6pm – Register here.
In solidarity,
Becky, HP, and Cathy
Rebecca Givan, President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Heather Pierce, President, Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union
Dr. Catherine Monteleone, President, AAUP-BHSNJ