Hundreds of Rutgers faculty members, graduate students threaten to strike

David Hutter//April 9, 2019//

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Hundreds of faculty and graduate members of Rutgers AAUP-AFT waged a protest threatening to strike Tuesday against the board of governors during a meeting at the Rutgers University Newark campus.

Protestors took this action after 13 months of bargaining without gaining equal pay for equal work for female faculty, adjuncts and graduates, according to their representatives. More than 4,800 full-time faculty and graduates are represented by the union.

They want the board of governors to avert a first-ever faculty and graduate student strike in Rutgers’ 253-year history and are pressuring the administration of Rutgers President Robert Barchi to settle a fair contract immediately.

This action comes weeks after AAUP-AFT faculty and graduate union members voted to authorize the elected leadership to strike.

Rutgers employees interrupt board meeting

Dozens of Rutgers University employees protested loudly during a board of governors meeting on the Rutgers-Newark campus Tuesday, shouting demands for higher salaries, gender diversity, and racial diversity while Rutgers University President Robert Barchi gave a report.
Barchi and the board of governors continued to speak at regular volumes but could not be heard easily or at all for about 15 minutes because some Rutgers University employees shouted over them. Barchi was giving an update on scholarships and athletic achievements.
Several dozen Rutgers employees shouted questions. Many shouted that Rutgers is an academic institution with a focus on research and that as such its professional educators and researchers deserve better pay.
These employees left on their own accord after about 20 minutes. They became louder as they exited into the hallway and used foul language not suitable for print.

“We have been bargaining for over a year now and while the threat of a strike is having an impact on the Barchi administration, we still have unresolved issues,” Deepa Kumar, President of the Rutgers AAUP-AFT, said in a statement to NJBIZ. “We just won $20 million for diversity hiring, but we need to also win equal pay for equal work for women faculty, fair wage increases for our least paid members particularly our grad employees, and a higher faculty to student ratio to improve the quality of education. This strike, if we strike, is about defending quality public education.”

“Rutgers faculty and graduate workers are being denied the critical resources they need to educate students,” Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said in a statement. “We had hoped the university’s offer to invest in the faculty’s diversity initiative offered a reset, but the administration still refuses to bargain a meaningful contract. It’s time the Rutgers board of governors changed its priorities to truly align with the university’s mission—to offer educators a meaningful contract that respects the teaching and learning that makes Rutgers great.”

Rutgers University spokeswoman Dory Devlin said the administration continues to meet and negotiate in good faith. “Agreements have been reached with six of the more than 20 different labor unions that have provided our employees, in general, 3 percent raises in each of the next three years and a 2.5 percent increase in the final year,” Devlin said. “We have held 35 negotiating sessions with the AFT-AAUP and a robust and active schedule of negotiating sessions has been set for the coming weeks.”

Employee unions that have ratified new contracts with the university include the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 888; The Fraternal Order of Police Local 164; International Union of Operating Engineers Local 68; Teamsters Local 97; American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) 1761; the Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 153.

“We are continuing to negotiate in good faith and on a regular basis with the remaining union,” Devlin said. “All issues related to employee contracts will be discussed at the negotiating table with the appropriate bargaining team representatives from the administration and the unions.”