Category Archives: Uncategorized

COPE, Elections, Higher Education, Legislation, Merger, Uncategorized, Videos

No Merger for Rutgers

July 3, 2012 urastaff

Camden Stays in the Family

In light o [Photo of Walt Whitman Statue at Camden Campus] f the fast and furious merger negotiations; calls for oversight by our members and other higher ed unions, students groups and concerned citizens; and the hearings at the statehouse over the last few weeks, we can now take a sigh of relief in knowing that solidarity and accountability have led to two great things for the people of NJ and especially the Rutgers community:

1) The legislation postpones the reorganization of higher education in New Jersey until July 2013.

2) Rutgers has come out of the deal in one piece – Camden remains a part of Rutgers, and a leader in higher education in southern New Jersey.

Because of the hard work and diligence of our members and the leadership of several affected unions , we are glad to announce that several areas of concern have now been addressed by the final legislation . We were able to protect our union rights; put labor representation on the new campus advisory boards; and require the State Auditor to review the University budget and measure transfers of funds between the campuses. This provision will open Rutgers’ books in a very useful way for many purposes.

This is not the end of the story but it is a better path than where we were headed. URA and AFT staff will prepare more detailed analysis of the law and how it impacts Rutgers after the 4th of July holiday.

Read more »

URA Members Speak Out on Legislation

While some URA members demonstrated, wrote and phoned their representatives, a hearty few travelled to Trenton in June to talk with legislators about a variety of issues. While Higher Education reorganization (“the merger bill”) received most attention on campus, union members from the AFL-CIO also spoke out on tax justice, minimum wage, and educational opportunity.

Here are the voices of some of the URA members who attended the Legislative Day on June 25:

Click here to watch Rhonda Smalls speak on keeping Rutgers in Camden

Click here to watch Nicole Curtis speak about education and jobs

Click here to watch Christine O’Connell speak on the millionaire’s tax

Click here to watch Titinia Brown speak about minimum wage

Read more »

Register to Vote Now

Are you registered to vote at your current address? If not, register to vote now. Every vote is going to count in the 2012 and 2013 elections.

You can access voter registration information and forms at http://votesmart.org/elections/voter-registration/NJ

URA-AFT Newsletter — Week of 6–4‑2012

June 1, 2012 urastaff

Higher Education Mergers: Newark & New Brunswick Join the Debate

URA members at Newark and New Brunswick campuses have joined the debate about higher education merger that has already galvanized Camden.

All agree that the costs and the educational benefits of merger between Rutgers, Rowan or UMDNJ have not been spelled out clearly enough to support any proposal. Email your legislators today and tell them not to rush through any Higher Education re-organization proposal before July 1. You can find your New Jersey state legislature at this link.

An Outlook on the Newark Legislative Breakfast

As a speaker at the UMDNJ United Legislative Breakfast on May 16 in Newark, NJ, URA Executive Board member reported back on the climate at the breakfast

URA’s Sue Nemeth Running for Assembly in the 16th District

Sue Nemeth, a Public Relations Specialist at Eagleton Institute on Douglass Campus and a 2012 URA delegate to AFT’s state and national Convention is a candidate in the special June 5 primary election to select a Democratic Assembly candidate in the 16th Legislative District.

Legislation, Pay Freeze, Uncategorized, URA Contract

URA-AFT Newsletter – Week of 5-14-2012

May 17, 2012 urastaff

Merit Raises Due In October: SCP Season Isn’t Over Yet

Though the April 30 deadline for complete your SCP has come and gone, there are still several things you need to keep in mind before October 1, when receipt of the third salary increase provided in 2012 under the URA Agreement are distributed:

A. If you have not done so already, you can still send a self-appraisal/comment to your SCP but it must be submitted before June 1, 2012

B. Those who were not given an evaluation by the April 30 deadline will automatically receive a 2.25% merit raise effective October 1, 2012

C. Everyone whose overall rating is “Meets Standards” must receive a minimum increase of 2%. The maximum merit increase is 4%. You can only receive a merit-based bonus if you are at the top of your salary grade. You must be employed at Rutgers in a URA position to be eligible for the October raise.

Legislative Breakfast

Wednesday, May 23

Rutgers AAUP-AFT & URA-AFT

URA members are invited to join the Rutgers AAUP-AFT and other higher education unions.

Our State Legislators will to discuss important higher education issues. Governor Christie’s proposed higher education re-organization including Rutgers-UMDNJ units in New Brunswick /Piscataway and Rutgers-Rowan will be key to these discussions.

Members of the Legislature from Central New Jersey as well as members of the Higher Education, Health and Budget committees have been invited.

Wednesday, May 23

8:00 am – 9:30 am

Busch Dining Room A (Lot 67B)

RSVP to lmillerand@ura-aft.org by Monday, May 21 (Note: this invitation is to “full dues”, “signed” union members. Members who need union release time to attend should discuss with their supervisor ASAP and reply by Friday, May 18)

Camden Has A New URA Leader

Alexis Rivera Alvarado, a Project Coordinator in the Camden Registrar’s office has been elected by the URA Executive Board to fill the vacant position of Camden campus Vice President.

URA Leaders are Recent Rutgers Grads

Join us in congratulating several of our stewards for their hard work and accomplishments:

Joyce Sagi, Cook steward and Health & Safety Committee Chair graduated Fri. 5/11/12 from SMLR/LEARN’s Employment Law for Union Representatives program.

Eric Himsel, Lead steward on Busch Campus graduated Sat. 5/12/12 from SMLR’s Master of Human Resource Management program.

Marilyn Tankiewicz, steward on the College Avenue Campus graduated Sat. 5/12/12 with honors with a B.A. in Women’s and Gender Studies and a minor in both Labor Relations and Psychology.

We wish them continued success. If you or another URA member is a recent graduate please let us know so we can join you in celebrating.

Union of Rutgers Administrators - American Federation of Teachers