Rutgers and Unions Reach Agreement, Classes to Resume

Rutgers University and the union representatives have agreed on new contracts for faculty members. This agreement has put an end to a strike that lasted for five days – which was the first of its kind in the 257-year history at Rutgers.

Rutgers announced on Saturday that a deal had been made the night before to let their 67,000 students come back to school. The university wants to make sure that the students’ schooling ambitions and dreams are taken care of. They believe nothing is more important than giving their students what they need to reach their academic goals.

The unions that are in charge of taking care of professors, part-time lecturers and graduate student workers have agreed to stop the strike and go back to work, but a few things still need to be sorted out before everyone can vote on the tentative agreement.

Our past strike has brought us to this moment and it’s important to remember that suspending the strike is very different from cancelling it. If we are not able to get what we need when we have discussions in the near future, then we can start the strike again. We will also be picketing as classes begin next week.

9,000 employees of Rutgers University are currently being represented in a strike by three unions. These unions are the Rutgers AAUP-AFT (which represents full-time instructors, Ph.D. holders, researchers and some counselors), the Adjunct Faculty Union (which looks after part-time lecturers) and AAUP-BHSNJ (which stands for faculty involved in research of biomedical, health care, nursing and public health).

Trade unions have announced that the new agreement will give adjuncts (people who teach part-time) and graduate student workers more money, greater job security, and give some graduate fellows the right to join a union. There are also other benefits that come as part of this framework.

Rutgers announced an agreement that will provide salary increases for those who work full-time and give counseling services. Part-time lecturers will get a whopping 43.8 percent raise in their pay by the year 2025, and they will have stronger job security too. Salaries for postdoctoral fellows and associates will also be increased, plus teaching assistants and graduate assistants can expect more money and extra help from Rutgers.

On Monday, Many college campuses such as those in New Brunswick, Piscataway, Newark and Camden saw student protests. Some students still attended classes like normal, whereas other either stayed away or even joined the picket line to show their support. Others said some of their professors were continuing with teaching/assigning work despite the protest.