We Have An Agreement
After a voting session across the three campuses yesterday the URA-AFT reports that there was a convincing majority of votes cast to approve the Salary Freeze Settlement and the Memorandum of Agreement ("MOA") as presented. We could not have done this without our member's support and thank you for your efforts. We will keep you apprised of the dates of payments shortly. Again, thank you for your participation in this ratification process.
General Membership Meeting
When: Mon., Jan. 30 @ 5:30pm
Where: Video-conferenced between three campuses.
**Camden: Armitage Hall, Dean's Conference Room.
**Newark: Special Collections Room, Dana Library, Fourth Floor.
**New Brunswick: Labor Education Center, Room 133.
(open to full-dues members only; membership forms available at the door)
Voting Information for Salary Freeze Tentative Agreement
Members to Vote on Tentative Agreement
Vote* - Monday, Jan. 23 (full-dues members only; membership applications will be available)
There will be three opportunities to vote on the agreement on Monday, Jan. 23 on all three campuses, as indicated below:
Newark, 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m., Center for Law and Justice, Second Floor Lobby.
Camden, 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m., {new location} Camden College Center, 326 Penn St., Executive Meeting Room
New Brunswick, 4:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Labor Education Center, Room 102 (behind auditorium, use Ryders Lane side entrance).
*Members who qualify for absentee ballots must contact the URA office at (732) 745-0300 or by email at union@ura-aft.org to have a ballot sent to their home address. This must be done so that the office receives the ballot within 24 hours of the close of elections. Please refer to Article XI, Sec. XV, of the URA Constitution.
How did we get to this agreement? Three years of struggle
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We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our members who worked so hard to achieve the settlement agreement. You came to rallies at the Board of Governor's meetings. You came to speak out at the President's annual address. You came to the open forum about the next president. You came to campus meetings and stayed informed. You came to legislative forums and called your state legislators. You stood at bus stops to talk to students, faculty and other staff. You wrote letters to the editor of your local paper. You did everything in your power to put pressure on management and it worked.
The links and videos to the right show a timeline of the past three years and some highlights of our struggle. For all our members who got involved and worked to end this salary freeze, please accept our sincere gratitude for everything you did. You made this happen. And you improved the quality of life for people not only in our unit, but really for all university employees. We doubt that any raises would have been given at all if were not for our members' activism. We sincerely thank you for all of your efforts. Congratulations— this is your victory! |
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We Have Reached a Tentative Agreement
The URA-AFT and Rutgers management have now reached a tentative settlement agreement on both the settlement of the salary freeze and memorandum of agreement (“MOA”) of our collective bargaining agreement (“contract”).
In solidarity,
The URA-AFT Executive Board and Bargaining Team
Here's What's New with the Salary Freeze Settlement Talks
- The AAUP-AFT has reached a tentative agreement [pending ratification from their membership] with Rutgers management to end the salary freeze and renew the collective bargaining agreement for their Faculty and EOF units.
- The URA-AFT is going back to the table beginning tomorrow, January 10, with the intention to reach a similar agreement.
- The quality of the settlement we will get depends on the SOLIDARITY of our membership. If management thinks we are ready to settle for less than the faculty -- they will give us less than faculty.
- Members who are angry or frustrated have two options: pressure management to give us MORE or pressure the Union negotiating team to settle for LESS. Your phone calls and emails to VP Fernandez and Edwards will help to settle the salary freeze and get us a fair and swift settlement.
Comparison Chart:
See for yourselves what the difference is between the two proposals and how you will be affected. This chart is based on data from the December 2011 proposal. Remember, in the final year (2014) we will be paying significantly more for health insurance, due to the changes in the State Health Benefits Program.
RUSA/GSA Resolutions Support the Staff and Faculty
The Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA) and the Graduate Student Association (GSA) support the staff and faculty unions’ fight to end the salary freeze.
See their resolutions here:
The Rutgers One coalition has shown that staff, faculty and students can work together, especially when the goal is to promote fairness and solidarity amongst the stake-holders of the university.
Elections Matter...2012
(from the American Federation of Teachers)
With the Iowa caucus behind us and the Republican presidential field narrowing, our focus now shifts to New Hampshire, which will hold its primary tomorrow.
In the weeks to come, candidates will be vying for enough votes to win the Republican nomination and challenge President Obama in November. The AFT wants to make sure you have the information you need to cast an informed vote.
The candidates have made statements on issues that are important to our members. See where the candidates stand on our issues.
Rutgers president list down to several dozen candidates
from The Star-Ledger, December 31, 2011 by Nic Corbett
The search for the next president of Rutgers University is expected to heat up significantly in the next two to three months.
The 24-member search committee has collected more than 250 nominations for the next president of the 58,000-student university and narrowed down the list to several dozen interested candidates, said chairman Greg Brown, chief executive officer of Motorola Solutions.
He characterized the search as "vibrant and robust.
Union Members In The News: Addressing the BOG on the Salary Freeze
"Protestors advocate for faculty, staff raises at BOG meeting", The Daily Targum, December 15, 2011 by Lisa Berkman and Anastasia Millicker/Staff Writers
"Rutgers thaws pay freeze for selected non-union employees", The Star-Ledger, December 16, 2011 by Nic Corbett
2012 Union Plus Scholarship – Deadline Approaching
Visit UnionPlus.org/Scholarships today....the Union Plus Scholarship deadline is coming up:
The deadline to apply for the 2012 Union Plus Scholarship is January 31, 2012.
Since 1992, the Union Plus Scholarship Program has awarded more than $3.2 million to students of union families, with over 2,100 union families benefiting from Union Plus’ commitment to higher education.
County-Based Employee Floating Holiday Agreement
This agreement, dated March 18, 2008, is for county-based employees in the URA unit who are assigned to offices which follow a holiday schedule that is different than that set forth in Article 14 "Holidays" section of the 2007-2011 URA-AFT Administrative Unit Contract.
Expert Finds RU Profits Up $114M
Howard Bunsis, the Treasurer of National AAUP and a professor of accounting at Eastern Michigan University, has prepared an analysis of Rutgers University's finances for FY 2010-2011.
Here is his executive summary:
The overall financial condition of Rutgers continues to be strong, as 2011 was an excellent year financially for Rutgers.
This conclusion is based on:
• A large ($100 million) increase in reserves
• Revenues exceeding expenses by $210 million for 2011
• Large positive cash flows -- close to $200 million, with an increase of more than $50 million from 2010
• Reaffirmation of the strong bond rating for Rutgers by both S&P and Moody’s
Prof. Bunsis's single most important conclusion may be this one, found on p. 3 of his December 6th Report, "Update of the Financial Condition of Rutgers":
"The 113.885M added to unrestricted net reserves is outstanding." These are the funds that Rutgers has available, by law, to pay negotiated raises.
Ultimately, the reduction in the State appropriation for 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 was more than compensated for by increases in other revenue sources. In the 2011 report, the administration reported that the State appropriation for 2012 would be the same as for 2011, but with other revenue sources likely to increase again, Rutgers will experience yet another year of strong revenue growth in the coming year.
Come out and tell the Board of Governors that we know Rutgers can afford to pay what they owe and not freeze our salaries for another three years.
Date: Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Time: 12:30 pm
Place: Winants Hall, College Ave. and Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ
Grievance Settlement for In-grade Upgrades
URA's grievance #154 concerned the "freezing" of in-grade adjustments for members of our unit. This procedure, outlined in Article 36 of the URA contract should have had nothing to do with the Salary Freeze, which is an Article 38 issue. URA members whose supervisors had attempted to process in-grade adjustments were asked to report the problem.
This fall, the grievance was resolved at the 3rd step. Some employees received retroactive pay, and others had their cases reviewed. Three members who came to the Union with the concern have now had their salaries upgraded as a direct result of the grievance. New reviews are now being processed, and members report that several additional in-grade raises have now been approved.
URA member Janice Campanella reports:
"I received my 5% in-grade raise in my last paycheck. You really came through for me. I know that the union has been under a lot of heat lately, but I want you to know that I am sticking up for the union in every conversation that comes my way....I am proud to be a member of the URA-AFT union."
TAs & GAs Say Don't Take the Bait
TA/GA Message on Salary Freeze and Grade-In
From the TAs and GAs of the Rutgers AAUP-AFT:
Don’t take the bait! Last Friday, Interim Executive Vice President Richard Edwards sent out an email that misrepresents current negotiations with the union. It is vital to set the record straight. We are sending a follow-up to the union's message that went out to everyone on Friday, Why Edwards' 12/1 message shows a lack of good faith, in order to show more how it impacts TAs and GAs specifically.
Rather than a magnanimous offer, the email’s offer is instead a tactic to divide the membership and force us into a less desirable contract, one which would effectively continue the salary freeze for another three years.
