Takeaway: We’ve launched our bargaining survey to find out what matters most to you as we organize for a new contract. 1) Complete the survey now; take 15 minutes after you read this email to fill it out. 2) Talk to colleagues about the importance of our union knowing your concerns and issues, and give out the link: bit.ly/AAUPsurvey.
Dear colleague,
We need to know what matters to you and what issues you think we should prioritize in bargaining, as we prepare to negotiate our next contract. So we’ve launched our bargaining survey: click here to fill it out. We need to get as many people represented by our union as possible to fill out the survey before December 3.
(As we wrote to you last week, management responded to a Coalition of Rutgers Unions proposal about extending our contracts. We repeated the terms our unions require before we would agree to an extension, and management has not yet responded. But we’re launching the survey without waiting. We need to begin preparing for bargaining and organizing if management walks away from a contract extension.)
The survey is designed to help us accurately understand and represent the diverse interests of our membership across different jobs, ranks, campuses, backgrounds, and identities. But it has another role: to help assess membership participation and the strength of the union. The best way to win a strong contract and improve working conditions is an active membership. The number of completed surveys itself is a measure of this. And by identifying the issues that matter most to everyone we represent, members and non-members alike, we can increase participation as the contract campaign goes on.
So first things first: fill out the survey yourself—preferably right after you finish reading this email! But second, we’d like to ask you to help us get the biggest possible response. Tell your colleagues to look for this message in their inboxes—or just give them the link to the survey: bit.ly/AAUPsurvey.
If you’re getting this email, we know you’re a member of your union. We’re counting on you to talk to your colleagues, both members and nonmembers, about the survey’s importance—and to circulate the bit.ly/AAUPsurvey link. If you talk to a colleague who isn’t a union member, take the opportunity to tell them why you think they should join.
All responses will be kept strictly confidential and will only be seen by elected union leaders and staff for the purposes of guiding bargaining and organizing. If you have any questions, contact us at aaup@rutgersaaup.org.
In solidarity,
Becky and Todd
Rebecca Givan, President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Todd Wolfson, General Vice President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Rutgers AAUP-AFT Facebook page: https://facebook.com/RUaaup/
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @ruaaup
Freedom School YouTubeChannel: https://rutgersaaup.org/YouTube
Find the latest messages to members and union statements here.
For union merch, email us at aaup@rutgersaaup.org.
Read our FAQ: Know Your Contract, Know Your Rights!