Rutgers Strike Halted, Agreement 'Framework' Announced

NEW JERSEY - After a historic academic and faculty strike disrupted classes across three Rutgers University campuses for nearly a week, a “framework agreement” on economic issues was reached between labor union representatives and the university late Friday night, Gov. Phil Murphy said.

The strike is currently suspended while an agreement is finalized and voted on, labor union representatives said.

Good morning @RutgersU We have reached a tentative framework for a contract & the strike is *suspended while a TA is finalized. The wins that will come in this contract are owed to the amazing & powerful work of member organizers on the ground. You all deserve a restful weekend🙌
— Rutgers AAUP-AFT Academic Worker Union (@ruaaup) April 15, 2023

Labor unions representing Rutgers’ part-time and full-time professors, graduate student workers, postdoctoral associates, counselors and biomedical faculty announced the historic strike on Monday following months of unresolved contract negotiations with the university. Union leaders cited wage, benefits and work conditions concerns for full- and part-time faculty, as well as graduate workers, as reasons for the strike. The strike served as the first of its kind in the university's 257-year history. Read more: Rutgers University Strike: What It Means

The resulting action prompted disrupted classes throughout the week and affected up to 67,000 students, the university said. In one instance reported to the university, protesters entered a class while a “critical exam” was being conducted. Read more: Rutgers Strike Disrupts 'Critical Exam,' University President Says

“This fair and amicable conclusion respects the interests of many different stakeholders, upholds New Jersey’s values, and puts an end to a standoff that was disruptive to our educators and students alike,” Murphy said in a statement. “I thank our mediators and representatives from all sides for their hard work and I look forward to the tens of thousands of students across the New Brunswick, Newark, and Camden campuses resuming their world-class educations on Monday.”

Rutgers AAUP-AFT Academic Worker Union President Becky Givan said the framework sets a new standard, including “unprecedented” gains for contingent workers and graduate students. The agreement is set to increase salaries for full-time faculty by at least 14 percent by July 2025.

The framework also provides for a 43.8 percent increase in the per-credit salary rate for part-time lecturers over the contract’s four years, strengthens their job security and increases the minimum salary for postdoctoral fellows and associates by 27.9 percent over the same contract period, according to a message from Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway to the Rutgers community sent early Saturday. Graduate students will also get a 10-month salary increase to $40,000 over the course of the contract, as well as health care coverage and free tuition and fees.

The contracts are retroactive to July 1, 2022, and will provide “substantial” retroactive salary payments to covered employees, Holloway said.

The framework agreement notably kept the university and labor unions out of court. A Q&A posted to the university’s website Sunday night called the union action illegal, adding that Rugters may seek an injunction in court to “compel a return to normal activities.”

“The Governor also asked me personally to delay taking legal action asking the courts to order strikers back to work. I agreed to the Governor’s important request while it appears that progress can be made," Holloway said earlier this week. "Obviously, if there is no movement towards an agreement, we will have no choice but to take legal action to assure the continued academic progress of our students and prevent irreparable harm.”

On Saturday, Holloway said that the framework agreement will allow the 67,000 Rutgers students affected by the strike - including many gearing up for graduation in a matter of weeks - to continue their studies without interruption. Classes are set to resume Monday, April 17.

“Nothing we do is as important as living up to the expectations that our students have of us to be fully supportive of them and nurturing of their academic ambitions and dreams,” the university president said.

Faculty and academic union leaders are set to meet virtually on Saturday at noon to discuss the continuing negotiations before a final vote. You can watch the meeting here.

"Our historic strike got us to this point," union leaders said in a joint Saturday statement. "And let us be clear, a suspension of our strike is not a cancellation. If we do not secure the gains we need on the open issues through bargaining in the coming days, we can and will resume our work stoppage. We also will continue putting significant pressure on the Rutgers administration to meet our needs, starting with informational pickets next week."