Takeaway: 1) Canvas for Senator Andrew Zwicker, the sponsor of bills to fix the fringe rate and establish safe nurse-to-patient ratios, on Saturday, November 4, in North Brunswick. Click here to sign up. 2) Vote on November 7 for the candidates our union endorsed (see below). 3) Sign up to make a voluntary contribution to support our union’s legislative work.
Dear colleague,
Members of our union have a chance to make a difference in the elections for New Jersey state Senate and Assembly on November 7. We need legislators in Trenton who have proven their commitment to protecting research and ensuring academic excellence at Rutgers and other public higher education institutions.
This coming Saturday, November 4, our union will be joining a canvas to talk to voters about Senator Andrew Zwicker, the primary sponsor of legislation to fix New Jersey’s vastly inflated fringe rate, as well as a safe-staffing bill supported by striking nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. Senator Zwicker’s race is one of the most competitive in this November’s state legislative elections, so our support is important. Click here to sign up to join us on Saturday, November 4. We’ll meet at 8:30 a.m. at 1295 Livingston Ave. in North Brunswick Township.
You can also help us build political power by making a voluntary contribution to the AFT Committee on Political Education (COPE), our parent union’s political action committee. The COPE pays for expenses related to educating legislators and supporting officeholders and candidates who respect our members, support public higher education, and work toward our union’s goals. Click here to authorize a deduction for the COPE from each of your paychecks. The suggested contribution is $5 per paycheck, but any amount is helpful and should fit your own current circumstances. You can click here to learn more about our union’s COPE.
We hope you’ll talk to your family, friends, and colleagues about voting for the candidates listed below, who our union Executive Council has endorsed. All of the endorsed candidates have been supportive of labor issues—in particular, legislation to lower the fringe rate on Rutgers grant-supported faculty, postdocs, and grad workers (which is still awaiting a final vote in the Assembly). Many of these candidates also support legislation to give our adjunct lecturer colleagues access to the state health insurance program and legislation on safe staffing that the striking RWJ nurses’ union identifies as a key issue for their working conditions. We encourage you to take all this into consideration when you consider who you will vote for.
Here are the candidates our union is endorsing:
District 6, Camden County
Senator James Beach (Higher Education Committee member)
District 7, Burlington County
Assemblywoman Carol Murphy
District 14, Mercer County
Senator Linda Greenstein (Assistant Majority Leader, Budget Committee member)
District 15, Mercer County
Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson
Assemblyman Anthony Verrelli
District 16, Middlesex, Somerset, Mercer, and Hunterdon Counties
Senator Andrew Zwicker (Higher Education Committee member)
Assemblyman Roy Freiman
District 18, Middlesex County
Senator Patrick Diegnan (Budget Committee member)
District 19, Middlesex County
Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez
District 29, Essex County
Senator Theresa Ruiz (Senate Majority Leader)
District 31, Hudson County
Running for Senate: Assemblywoman Angela McKnight
District 33, Hudson County
Running for Senate: Assemblyman Raj Mukherji
District 35, Passaic County
Senator Nellie Pou (Majority Caucus Chair)
District 37, Bergen County
Senator Gordon Johnson (Assistant Majority Leader)
To join the Legislative Committee of our union, reply to this email or email aaup@rutgersaaup.org.
In solidarity,
Matthew Buckley, Legislative Committee Chair, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Legislative Committee, Rutgers AAUP-AFT