Dear colleague,
Our members have spoken: over 94 percent of those who cast a ballot on strike authorization voted YES. Eighty percent of our membership participated, far surpassing any previous turnout for our two unions.
The vote does not mean a strike is inevitable. The leadership bodies of our two unions will decide in the coming weeks whether a strike is necessary to win the contracts we deserve. But the vote is a show of unity and strength that we hope the administration recognizes. The ball is in their court. They can decide to keep us in our classrooms, libraries, and labs by responding to our proposals with serious offers that meet the urgent needs we’ve identified.
Spring Break starts this weekend, and we hope you all get some much-needed rest before the battles ahead. But we want to take a moment first to celebrate what we achieved.
We’re grateful to all of you who worked so hard for this. Collectively, we stepped up. Members of our unions made literally thousands of phone calls and sent thousands of texts to get out the vote. We held a half-dozen cross-union meetings in departments, schools, and on Busch campus. We organized an inspiring “Day of People’s Protest and Education” in Newark last week. Nearly 300 people joined our unions since the strike vote began 10 days ago so they could make their voice heard.
We’ll get back to organizing right away when classes resume again after the break. Mark your calendars now for a cross-union all-member town hall on Friday, March 24, at 4 p.m. (click here to get the Zoom link), where we can answer questions about a possible strike and talk together about the way forward. Please complete this form if you are interested in learning how to build strong, lively, and safe picket lines. All training sessions will be on Zoom.
In the meantime, get some rest—and get ready for the fight ahead to win a fair contract!
In solidarity,
Becky and Amy
Rebecca Givan, President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Amy Higer, President, Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union, PTLFC-AAUP-AFT
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