Five Coalition of Rutgers Unions locals, among them Rutgers AAUP-AFT (Local 6323) and URA-AFT (Local 1766), recently ratified an agreement with Rutgers University that provides job security, a timetable for raises and other gains for the CRU.
“We finally got the administration to change direction and adopt our people-centered approach,” said Todd Wolfson, president of Rutgers AAUP-AFT.
“By ratifying an agreement with management as the Coalition of Rutgers Unions, with benefits that will be felt by all union workers, we show both Rutgers and our members that we’re stronger together and that solidarity is more than a word,” said Christine O’Connell, president of URA-AFT.
Wolfson, O’Connell and other CRU leaders involved with the negotiations cite the following as notable achievements:
- A no-layoff guarantee for staff unions running through Jan. 1, 2022
- An improved program for funding extensions for graduate students whose research has been disrupted by the pandemic
- The reversal of a restriction on reappointing adjunct faculty that led to one-fifth of part-time lecturers losing their regular courses this current school year
- A timetable for payment of raises canceled last summer when the university declared a fiscal emergency
In return, the unions agreed to a work-sharing program that is designed to save jobs, under which most members would be furloughed for a day or half-day each week through June.