Rutgers’ faculty union achieve full academic freedom amid continuing contract talks

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As their contract negotiations with Rutgers University continue, the union representing the school’s full-time faculty has already achieved a major win: academic freedom.

The achievement is notable as other academic unions are seeking protections for professors’ right to teach without fear of reprisal from university administrators or government interference. The issue’s prominence comes as the Trump administration has pressured higher education institutions to fall in line with its political agenda.

Rutgers, New Jersey’s land-grant university, has defended academic freedom despite the pressure, said Rebecca Givan, president of Rutgers American Association of University Professors-American Federation of Teachers and an associate professor at Rutgers-New Brunswick.

“The Rutgers administration has generally stood strong, but the chilling effect remains,” Givan said. “If somebody might change their syllabus because they don’t want to get doxed, I don’t blame the Rutgers administration. They’re not the ones doing the doxing.”

Givan said the union sought “clear, strong language with no carve-outs” to protect a range of groups, including full-time faculty, adjunct professors and librarians, when teaching, discussing or presenting ideas. She added the language in the previous contract, which expired last June, was “a little less clear and comprehensive” and did not apply to adjunct faculty.

“Their ability to have true academic freedom is always in question,” Givan said, adding that extending the protection was their highest priority.

The union also reached tentative agreement on civil rights and opportunity, formerly known as diversity, equity and inclusion. According to Givan, the university felt it could not use the latter term anymore and the union wanted to ensure there would be programs in place to support a university community “that look like the state of New Jersey.”

“We didn’t focus on the terminology,” she said. “We focused on the programs and the ways we can negotiate programs that make a material difference to members of our community.”

Rutgers faculty has worked for than three months without a contract

Despite the agreements on two sections of the contract, the two sides still have many issues to resolve. The previous union contract expired June 30. Negotiations have been ongoing since early spring.

Givan said the active phase of bargaining has begun. The union’s priorities include job security for adjunct faculty, robust research funding and job protections against artificial intelligence.

Unlike three years ago, when the first strike in Rutgers history happened after negotiations broke down, Givan said bargaining sessions have become more frequent.

“The Rutgers administration, including labor relations and legal leadership, has almost entirely turned over,” she said. “We have a cordial relationship, but we’re deeply concerned about the substance and about the university’s willingness to engage on priority issues.”

Rutgers has held 32 bargaining sessions with the union and 50 sessions with four other bargaining units, according to Rutgers spokesperson Dory Devlin. She said in a statement the university is committed to “supporting faculty on issues unique to higher education.”

“We are operating from a position of fairness and fiscal responsibility while staying focused on maintaining academic excellence for our students,” Devlin said. “We will continue to negotiate in good faith, working to align union proposals with the university’s priorities and fiscal realities.”