As faculty strike continues, Rutgers union leader reports ‘progress’ in negotiations

As the teaching force at Rutgers closed out Day 2 of a historic strike and continued marathon negotiations, a top union leader reported “progress” in the talks taking place at the state capitol Tuesday evening.

“We’re making progress,” said Rebecca Givan, president of Rutgers AAUP-AFT. “We truly appreciate the intervention of the governor. This has moved us forward.”

Gov. Phil Murphy called union leaders and negotiators for the administration to his office Monday, the day the strike began, and lengthy negotiations have been going on there since.

On Monday night, university president Jonathan Holloway in a statement called out protesters for disrupting some classes that were taking place.

“In one instance, protesters actually entered a class where a critical exam was being conducted,” Holloway wrote in a message to the campus community late Monday night.

“While I respect the right of people to peacefully protest, there is no excuse for interfering with classes being taught by faculty who are choosing to continue with their jobs and meet their obligations to our students.”

» READ MORE: For the first time in its 257-year history, Rutgers’ faculty and grad student unions will go on strike

Neither the unions representing Rutgers’ educators nor the administration had an estimate on what percentage of classes was being held at the 67,000-student university after the strike that started Monday morning. Holloway in his message said all the campuses were open and operating, including academic buildings and the libraries, and students were encouraged to continue doing their work and going to classes.

In a statement Tuesday morning, Rutgers AAUP-AFT responded: “Let’s be clear: Our picket lines have been and will continue to be a peaceful, nonviolent expression of our determination to make a better Rutgers for our students and workers.”

» READ MORE: Nearly all of Rutgers’ academic workforce is on strike. Here’s what to know

The strike by three unions representing 9,000 educators, researchers and clinicians — the first in Rutgers’ history — was called after more than 10 months of unsuccessful negotiations. It has caused widespread disruption on Rutgers’ three campuses, in New Brunswick, Camden and Newark, with the unions representing virtually all of the public flagship university’s teaching force.

A second day of negotiations between the union leadership and administration began again Tuesday morning at the state capitol.

The unions have remained far apart from the administration on salary demands, especially those for graduate workers, adjuncts and postdoctoral associates. The unions are demanding significant upgrades in their salaries, which for too long have been woefully inadequate to live on, the unions have said. They have also been far apart on job security for part-time instructors, and health-care insurance subsidies for both the part-time workers and graduate students.

» READ MORE: As Rutgers strike begins and classes are canceled, negotiations continue with Gov. Murphy’s oversight

Holloway in recent weeks said he might go to court for an injunction if faculty went on strike, but then announced that move would be put on hold at Murphy’s request.

In Monday night’s message, however, he said that hold has a shelf life, with only 2½ weeks remaining in the semester before final exams — a critical time for students, especially seniors.

“Obviously, if there is no movement toward an agreement, we will have no choice but to take legal action to assure the continued academic progress of our students and prevent irreparable harm,” he wrote. “This is especially important for the thousands of students who are finishing their academic careers at Rutgers and are only a few weeks away from earning their degrees.”

But he did not address how long the university would wait before seeking court action.

The unions responded: “Sadly, just when Gov. Murphy had called on our unions and the Rutgers administration to come to Trenton to negotiate, President Holloway has again resorted to union-busting tactics and threats. We are in Trenton today and are bargaining in good faith there, as we have for nearly a year — with the hope that Gov. Murphy will influence the Holloway administration to finally take bargaining seriously.”

Givan said Tuesday night that the challenges are big and the issues difficult.

“We’re committed to our values of supporting the most vulnerable among us, including our students and our communities,” she said.