Dear colleague,
Last month, the Rutgers Board of Governors convened a special meeting to approve a 6 percent tuition increase, along with similar increases in housing and food service costs. Our union opposes this cruel decision at a time when our students and their families are enduring the highest inflation rate in 40 years, while Rutgers continues to enjoy a financial bonanza.
The administration blames the tuition hike on our hard-won contract victories last spring. Yet Gov. Phil Murphy and legislative leaders approved an extra $33 million in state funding to help pay for those gains. Meanwhile, Rutgers banked hundreds of millions of dollars during the pandemic—far more than our contracts will cost—from layoffs and cuts that hit the most vulnerable hardest and from federal pandemic aid intended for the whole Rutgers community. The administration’s unrestricted financial reserves nearly doubled in just two years to $886 million.
There is no need whatsoever to raise tuition. This is a betrayal of Rutgers’ responsibility as a public university to provide an accessible education—and a cynical maneuver designed to stoke divisions between students and our unions. President Holloway and the administration know that students supported us throughout our contract campaign and strike. We will not be silent as the administration punishes students and their families for this support, while blaming our unions.
We call on the Board of Governors to convene another special meeting and rescind the tuition increase. We ask Gov. Murphy and legislative leaders to join us in urging the administration to reverse course before they cause more harm to our community and the people of New Jersey.
The administration waited until July to announce the tuition hike to avoid an outraged response from students. But we are reaching out to student government leaders and other organizations now to find out how they plan to act in the Fall—and we will be there with all the forces our union can mobilize to support them.
Join us in sending a message that the administration must abide by our contract and centrally fund raises and extend funding for all grad workers whose work was affected by the pandemic. We will meet outside Winants Hall (7 College Ave., New Brunswick) on Monday, August 14, at 12 p.m. and visit the offices of Chief Financial Officer J. Michael Gower and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Prabhas Moghe. Fill out this form if you want to participate on Monday or in the future.
In solidarity,
Todd, Becky, and Miguel
Todd Wolfson, President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Rebecca Givan, General Vice President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Miguel Rodriguez, Secretary-Treasurer, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
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