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Category Archives: AFTNJ News
Photos: TCNJ Day of Action for a fair contract and higher ed funding
The College of New Jersey students, faculty and staff rallied for a fair contract for workers and funding for higher education Thursday, April 26. Click the image above to see more photos.
Photos: William Paterson University Day of Action
Click image to see photos from the April 25 Day of Action for a fair contract and higher education funding.
College of New Jersey professors rally to protest contract dispute
By David Karas/The Times
Hundreds of professors and professional staffers participated in a Day of Action on the TCNJ campus Thursday to rally support for their ongoing contract negotiations with the state. AFT members have been without a contract for a year now.
EWING — With shouts of solidarity and calls for fairness, several hundred professors and professional staffers at The College of New Jersey wore their blue union shirts and assembled for a rally yesterday to rouse support for stalled contract negotiations.
Members of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 2364 and representatives from the Council of New Jersey State College Locals participated in the rally on the steps of Green Hall, home to the college’s administration.
Ralph Edelbach, president of the AFT at TCNJ, said the purpose of the rally was to show the campus administration that the union is organized and ready to push back against what he called the unfair demands of the state.
“The kind of contract we get makes a difference in the quality of education we can deliver,” he said.
The governor’s office declined to respond to requests for comment.
The rally at TCNJ followed similar demonstrations at campuses of other schools that are members of the Council of New Jersey State College Locals.
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Video: AFL-CIO joins TCNJ contract rally
Thousands of union members and student turned out fighting for a fair contract and funding for higher education at state colleges and universities this week.
The state and school presidents are calling for a four-year pay freeze, elimination of sabbaticals, and would make faculty and staff use their vacation days whenever the school decides to close.
Instead of working with the union to reach a fair settlement, the state is asking for terms that would strip away decades of hard-won provisions that would dramatically impact the ability of schools to attract and retain the level of qualified workers that New Jersey has now. The givebacks the state is asking for would undermine New Jersey’s higher education system and deprive students of educational opportunities.
We are extremely proud of the great support generated at these rallies and we will continue to fight together for a fair contract and to preserve the highest level of education for our state and its students.
In Unity,
Charles Wowkanech, President
Laurel Brennan, Secretary-Treasurer
Educators, professionals rally at NJCU, seeking new labor contract and tuition rollbacks as part of statewide action
By Celeste Little/The Jersey Journal
Graduate student Fatima Benchouk joins the rally by the American Federation of Teachers Local 1839, students, teachers and staff at New Jersey City University in Jersey City on Wednesday, April 25, 2012. Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal
Several dozen educators and other professionals rallied yesterday at New Jersey City University, calling for a new labor contract and rollbacks in tuition costs.
Rallies are being held at college campuses around the state this week, union officials said.
The protests serve as a rallying cry for increased state funding for higher education and fair labor negotiations on campuses, AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech said.
Steve Young, an official with the American Federation of Teachers, said yesterday at NJCU that professors have been working with an “amended version” of a contract that expired in June.
The current arrangement excludes sabbaticals, career development, mandatory raises, and advancement opportunity for new teachers, he said.
“The lack of funding affects students’ tuition ultimately, and if we don’t get the contract or at least what we had in the past, teachers won’t want to teach in New Jersey,” said Young.
New Jersey ranks 47th in the nation for higher education funding, according to Young.
Over the past three years tuition at NJCU has risen $1,033, union workers said.
Lois Weiner, a professor at the college, said she teaches mostly working-class individuals who can’t afford the tuition hikes.
“My students are now working 40 hours a week to pay tuition and have to be full-time students to get financial aid,” Weiner said. “New Jersey government is giving students the shaft.”
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Perth Amboy school board puts superintendent on paid leave
By Tom Haydon/The Star-Ledger
Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-LedgerPerth Amboy superintendent Janine Caffrey poses earlier this month.
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The vote was met with a roar of cheers and applause from the audience. Of about 400 people at meeting, about half were district employees, said Donna Chiera, president of the local teachers union.
Chiera said Caffrey had lost the “trust and confidence” of the staff.
“The issue has always been that decisions have been made in what is to be done to the staff, and not with the staff,” Chiera said.
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Richard Stockton College faculty and staff demonstrate for college funding, a contract
By DIANE D’AMICO Education Writer
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP — The academic year at Richard Stockton College is ending, but faculty and staff at the college held a demonstration on campus Wednesday to raise awareness of low college funding and that they worked the entire year without a new contract.
Demonstrations were planned at eight public colleges. Union officials said the rising cost of college is not because of faculty salaries and benefits but because the state has under-funded the colleges for years.
Gov. Chris Christie had proposed increasing aid to higher education by almost 6 percent to $1.4 billion for 2012-13, but that comes after years of cuts. The funds will largely be used to meet the state’s obligation for employee benefits. The unions are concerned that the state wants to break up the statewide faculty unions, which would reduce their bargaining power.
Donna Chiera, president of the American Federation of Teachers New Jersey, which represents the faculty, said in a statement that true support for higher education means investing in the colleges and providing good, competitive working conditions for faculty and staff.
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Rowan University faculty members march on campus to protest stalled contract settlement
By Jessica Driscoll/ Gloucester County Times
GLASSBORO — Beating drums, carrying symbolic coffins and chanting “We want a contract,” members of Rowan University’s American Federation of Teachers marched through campus Wednesday to protest the fact that they’ve been working without a contract since June 30.
Dan Murphy, assistant director of University Publications, marches with teachers and other professional staff Wednesday, April 25, 2012. Members of Rowan University's American Federation of Teachers marched through campus to protest the fact that they've been working without a contract since June 30. Rowan faculty joined seven other union-sponsored rallies being held at college campuses throughout the state. (Staff Photo by Lori M. Nichols/Gloucester County Times)
Rowan faculty joined seven other union-sponsored rallies being held at college campuses throughout the state. Wednesday’s rallies included Rowan, Ramapo, Stockton, William Paterson, Montclair State, Kean and New Jersey City University, with The College of New Jersey planning to hold its rally Thursday.
“We’re drawing a line in the sand, asking the faculty to let the president know they’re disenchanted with the lack of any new progress in the contracts,” said Nicholas Yovnello, president of the Council of New Jersey State College Locals AFT/AFL-CIO. “We’re also protesting regressive clauses. The state wants to eliminate, in our contracts, our ability to have an observer on the budget committee. This takes away transparency and accountability. Right now, New Jersey higher education is in chaos, and the lack of a contract is one of the symptoms.”
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Audio: Dr. Susanna Tardi on Contract Talks
http://archive.wbai.org/files/mp3/wbai_120425_180207wbainews.mp3
Dr. Susanna Tardi’s interview starts just before the 13 minute mark and continues until 19 minutes.
