Rutgers’ union leaders OK tentative contract, setting stage for full faculty vote
May 1, 2023, 1:28 p.m.
The leaders of the three faculty unions that went on strike last month agreed to recommend the tentative contract to their members on Sunday night.
Rutgers University faculty are set to vote this week on whether to ratify a tentative, four-year contract and end nearly a year of negotiations that erupted into the first teaching strike in university history.
Leaders from the three unions that went on a five-day strike last month agreed on Sunday night to approve the tentative agreement and recommend it for full membership vote. The AAUP-AFT, Rutgers Faculty Union and AAUP-BHSNJ represent 9,000 teaching professors, adjuncts, biomedical staff, graduate workers and postdoctoral associates.
“We’re proud of what we achieved by going on strike and joining together for the Rutgers we and our students deserve. We believe these are strong contracts that make numerous advances for our members. We didn’t win everything we asked for and deserve, but no labor contract ever does. We will continue fighting for a better Rutgers starting the day after we have a ratified contract,” the three unions said in a joint statement.
The tentative agreement secures a 44% pay increase for adjuncts over the life of the four-year contract. It also gives adjuncts more job security by including one- and two-year contracts for those who are senior lecturers. Adjuncts teach about a third of university courses. Graduate workers will also see their pay boosted to $40,000, up from $30,000, by 2025. Labor experts have said the deal could inspire other unions to make similar demands.
School officials and the faculty unions agreed to contract language on Friday, two weeks after both sides announced a framework deal that suspended the strike.
“Reaching this point today is a recognition that we all can come together and work through our differences for the good of the university. It is also a testament to the leadership of Governor [Phil] Murphy, who brought all sides together when progress had stalled,” Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway wrote in a university-wide email on Sunday.
The union will hold town hall meetings this week to explain the contract language. The four-year contract, if approved, includes retroactive pay for faculty dating back to July 2022. Union members will vote later this week through next Monday at noon on whether to approve the deal.
This story has been updated to correct the byline.
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