Dear AAUP-BHSNJ,

We are pleased to inform you that our sister union, the Rutgers AAUP-AFT reached an agreement with the Rutgers administration concerning their new collective negotiations agreement. Their union represents 4,800 full-time faculty and graduate students who work mostly on non-RBHS campuses. The agreement should pave the way for us to close many of the same articles, as there are many similarities and often identical language between both our contracts. We played an active role in assisting them to obtain the best deal possible and have been working in concert for many months. They too will be working with us in the coming days to help us cross the finish line.

Below are some of the highlights from their agreement:

Equity raises: For the first time in our almost 50-year history, our union has made it possible for women and faculty of color to obtain pay equity. In short, we won provisions for equal pay for equal work, including for faculty in Camden and Newark earning less than comparable New Brunswick scholars. Faculty will apply through an expanded out-of-cycle process, backed up with an appeal process and the University’s commitment to pay raises from central funds. That last stipulation overrides the destructive budget model of Responsibility Center Management (RCM). All faculty are eligible to apply for an equity correction if you believe that you are paid less than your peers.

All faculty will receive the following salary increases:

• July 1, 2018 - $3,642
• July 1, 2019 – 3% across-the-board
• July 1, 2020 – 3% merit
• July 1, 2021 – 2.5% across-the-board

For all members, retroactive payments will be processed going back to July 1, 2018.

Gender and Race Equity : We also won $20 million for diversity hiring. In another historic first, the University agreed to a committee composed equally of our members and members of management, co-chaired by the SPVAA and a person selected by our union. The Diversity Committee will be charged with planning systematic changes to our University’s approach to gender, race and diversity.

Academic Freedom: For the first time in our history, academic freedom is recognized in our contract for all unit members and expressly applies to social media.

NTT Faculty: We won meaningful job security for our NTT colleagues who until now had few, if any, protections against arbitrary non-renewals. An NTT faculty member cannot be re-appointed for a term shorter than her or his previous term. And after six years, she will receive a minimum three-year contract upon reappointment. Also, at any point, NTTs may be (re)appointed for a seven-year term. For the first time ever NTTs have a grievance procedure that empowers them to challenge non-reappointments and decisions not to promote. Finally, the University has shifted from its “no-green card” policy. Rutgers may now sponsor NTT faculty for permanent residency in the United States.

Protections against sexual harassment and gender and race discrimination: We now have a guarantee of a workplace free of harassment and stalking, enforced with binding arbitration.

If you would like to get more involved with our negotiations, please reach out to Marisa Jimenez at membership@aaupbhsnj.org.

Sincerely,