Rutgers’ faculty begin strike authorization vote as negotiations stagnate

More faculty unrest is brewing — this time at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

After nine months of negotiations failed to produce an agreement, the two unions representing Rutgers full-time faculty, graduate students, and adjuncts on Tuesday launched a strike authorization vote slated to happen over the next 10 days.

If approved, the vote would give the union negotiating teams the authority to call a strike, which would be the first in their history. A strike almost happened four years ago, but it was averted at the last minute, union leaders said.

» READ MORE: First-year and transfer enrollment at Rutgers-Camden is down 27%, and faculty are concerned

While the current strike at Temple involves only graduate student teaching and research assistants — they went out on Jan. 31 — any action at Rutgers could involve virtually all teaching staff. Roughly 8,000 employees are covered by the contracts, and Rutgers enrolls more than 67,000 students.

“So this would be everybody who teaches at Rutgers,” said Rebecca Givan, president of Rutgers AAUP-AFT, which represents full-time faculty, graduate workers, postdoctoral associates, and counselors. “Every classroom empty.”

Faculty, graduate workers, staff, and undergraduates participated in a rally Tuesday on the Rutgers-Newark campus, where the board of governors was scheduled to meet, but the meeting was ultimately moved online because of travel concerns caused by weather. Other actions also are scheduled to be held at Rutgers-Camden and the New Brunswick campus, union officials said.

» READ MORE: Rutgers professors say they were shortchanged in salary equity adjustments, especially those who work in Camden

Members of several other Rutgers’ unions that represent about 7,000 medical resident physicians, nurses, other health professionals, and administrative workers joined the rally in Newark. They also have been without new contracts since the pacts expired last summer.

Rutgers said in a statement it would continue to work as hard as it could to negotiate contracts that are “fair, reasonable, and responsible.”

» READ MORE: How does Temple grad students’ pay compare to other schools?

“We have already held more than 100 bargaining sessions with our faculty and staff unions and will continue to meet in good faith with them until we reach comprehensive agreements on mandatorily negotiable issues, including compensation,” said Dory Devlin, spokesperson.

Givan said she’s not sure how soon a strike would occur if union members authorize it — which she thinks they will.

“I can’t imagine our members want to wait months,” she said. “We don’t want to go on strike, but we’re frustrated and our members are losing patience.”

Compared to four years ago, “the frustration is massively amplified,” said Jim Brown, president of the Rutgers-Camden chapter of the AAUP-AFT union.

The faculty union is seeking 5% wage hikes, plus more if inflation is higher. Meanwhile, the administration has offered 2.25% in the first year and 2% in each of the next three years, Givan said.

The union also is pushing to have graduate students paid a living wage, Givan said. Teaching assistants and graduate assistants covered by the union contract get a minimum salary of $30,162 ($33,999 if their appointment is for the academic year). The union wants to see the minimum raised to $36,000. Better pay for adjuncts reflecting the work they do also is a demand, she said.

At Temple, members of the Temple University Graduate Students Association overwhelmingly voted down a tentative agreement and the union remains on strike. The two sides are continuing to negotiate.