Professor Strike Looms at Rutgers University Campus as Faculty Demands Equal Pay, More Diversity (Maxfield, NBC)
“We are in the same boat,” Deepa Kumar, a professor and union president, said. “We are fighting for affordable, quality public education. That is why so many students were out today.”
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During campus protest, Rutgers faculty threaten to strike (Carrera, North Jersey News)
“In the North Jersey and New York area we live in, the wages we have are not enough to live on,” said Soili Smith, a graduate worker. “Our job is full time — we’re doing research, grading papers, teaching classes — whether the administration realizes that or not. ”
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Rutgers’ Labor Union Members Signal ‘Final Warning’ for Strike (Panico, TapIntoNewark)
Labor leaders have not given a clear timeline for when members might strike, but Rutgers AAUP – AFT Vice President David Hughes said the bargaining session scheduled for next Monday could be pivotal. “We’re bringing toothbrushes,” Hughes told TAPinto Newark during the rally. “It could go into extra innings. Monday could be a turning point.”
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Rutgers president is ‘fully confident’ the university can avoid a professor strike (Clark, NJ Advance Media)
“I think this can be stopped actually,” Hughes said. “I think we can end up with a contract that makes everybody happy and everybody in the state of New Jersey proud.”
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Rutgers faculty union holds rally to fight for salary demands (News 12)
Alexandra Adams, a grad student, said “I actually declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy earlier this year because I’ve spent four years here not making a living wage. Despite the fact that I don’t go anywhere or do anything except for work here seven days a week between my teaching and research load.”
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Hundreds of Rutgers faculty members, graduate students threaten to strike (Hutter, NJBiz)
“Rutgers faculty and graduate workers are being denied the critical resources they need to educate students,” Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said in a statement. “We had hoped the university’s offer to invest in the faculty’s diversity initiative offered a reset, but the administration still refuses to bargain a meaningful contract. It’s time the Rutgers board of governors changed its priorities to truly align with the university’s mission—to offer educators a meaningful contract that respects the teaching and learning that makes Rutgers great.”
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Rutgers Teetering On The Edge Of Major Faculty Strike (Sitrin, NJ Spotlight)
The union has secured support from U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), who tweeted “Educators at every level of our education system deserve better. I support the Rutgers AAUP-AFT in this fight for equality & dignity. Rutgers faculty are on the front lines every day for their students — we should all be united in the movement to support them.”
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) tweeted “I stand with AAUP-AFT Rutgers professors who are prepared to strike in order to defend affordable, quality higher education. When we organize and stand together, we win.”
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