Rutgers University ends week-long strike

In a letter to the Rutgers community, the university announced that a framework on the economic issues for new contracts has been reached.

“The framework that was reached late last night between Rutgers and its faculty unions provides fair and equitable wages, benefits, and work conditions for our faculty as well as our graduate students and part-time lecturers. Reaching consensus comes as a result of the active and engaged leadership of Governor Murphy, to whom we all are deeply indebted,” wrote President and University Professor Jonathan Holloway.

“Most important, closure on this framework will allow our 67,000 students to resume their studies and pursue their academic degrees. Nothing we do is as important as living up to the expectations that our students and their families have of us to be fully supportive of them and nurturing of their academic ambitions and dreams,” the statement continued.

The agreement on new contracts promises to increase salaries by at least 14% by July 1, 2025.

Thousands of professors, part-time lecturers, and graduate student workers at New Jersey’s flagship university went on strike Monday April 10, the first such job action in the school’s 257-year history.

Classes were still being held at Rutgers as picket lines were set up at the school’s campuses in New Brunswick/Piscataway, Newark and Camden. Union officials had decided Sunday night to go on strike, citing a stalemate in contract talks that have been ongoing since July. Faculty members had voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing a strike last month.

Three unions, which represent about 9,000 Rutgers staff members, were involved in the strike: The Rutgers AAUP-AFT, which represents full-time faculty, graduate workers, postdoctoral associates and some counselors; the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union, which represents part-time lecturers; and the AAUP-BHSNJ, which includes faculty in the biomedical and health sciences at Rutgers’ medical, dental, nursing, and public health schools.

Union leaders originally demanded salary increases, better job security for adjunct faculty and guaranteed funding for grad students, among other requests.