The URA bargaining team met with Rutgers management for the first three negotiating sessions on April 9, April 24, and May 7. These are some highlights of discussions so far:
URA has put proposals on the table to:
- Provide equal allowance of Administrative Leave (AL) days when a 10-month position is converted to 12 months. (Article 3)
- Extend bereavement leave to members who have cared for non-family members at the end of life by serving as health proxies, executors or making final arrangements. Allow bereavement leave at the time that a funeral is held, especially military funerals where the family cannot choose the date. (Article 6)
- Prevent workplace bullying by clarifying the criteria and procedures for our Non-Hostile Workplace Conference. (Article 27)
- Solidify the union’s right to challenge decisions by Rutgers over which positions can be classified as overtime exempt.
- Allow new employees’ probationary period to be extended only once, with notification to the union. (Article 33)
- Provide a firm timeline for supervisors to approve or modify the job description of employees who use the self-initiated reclassification process. (Article 35)
- Increase the vision care reimbursement to $150. This part of our health benefits package is entirely funded by Rutgers and is separate from the State Health Benefits Plan. (Article 55)
Management has proposed to:
- Extend the probationary period for new employees to 1 year.
- Eliminate the Non-Hostile Workplace article of the contract.
- Eliminate the current Steps 1 and 2 of the grievance procedure, preventing union stewards from resolving issues at the department level.
These proposals would take away important protections we have won at the bargaining table over the last 10 years. We can’t make progress toward a better contract unless all our members get involved.
Here’s what you can do in May:
- Wear your union button at work. Post union posters on your door or workplace bulletin board. – it’s your protected right.
- Follow URA’s Facebook page (URA1766) and share union messages on your own social media.
- Attend the next URA General Membership meeting :
5:30 pm -Monday, May 21 in Room 101, Hickman Hall, Douglass Campus.
