Rutgers University’s unionized faculty want administration to stop ‘unnecessary’ hiring freeze

From Camden and Cherry Hill to Trenton and the Jersey Shore, what about life in New Jersey do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know.

A coalition of Rutgers University faculty unions are calling on administration officials to reverse course in implementing a hiring freeze that was announced as part of a $6.2 billion budget for fiscal year 2027.

The unions — Rutgers American Association of University Professors-American Federation of Teachers, the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union, AAUP-Biomedical and Health Sciences of New Jersey and the Union of Rutgers Administrators — on Friday described the hiring freeze as “unnecessary and counterproductive” in a statement, adding that it will “damage the university’s core missions of education and research.”

Carlos Decena, president of Rutgers AAUP-AFT, told WHYY News that full-time faculty will experience “two specific levels” of difficulty if a hiring freeze is implemented.

“One is suddenly having to perform labor that is performed by our colleagues who are adjuncts, who are hired to teach a course or two or whatnot, who will not be rehired,” Decena said. “We will also experience it at the level of not being able to bring in new colleagues that we’ve already gotten authorization to hire in fields that are important or emerging to our fields of study.”

Hank Kalet, vice president of Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union, said students would also feel the effects of a hiring freeze through higher class sizes and their timelines to complete degrees.

“There are going to be, most likely, fewer course offerings, for instance, because fewer people are going to be teaching,” he said. “If there are fewer course offerings, it’s going to take students longer to complete the courses they need to move through their degree and graduate.”

In his message to the Rutgers community about the school’s budget, university President William Tate said there would be a review process for exceptions for critical positions and that faculty searches that are underway or approved by a chancellor will continue as planned.

“Faculty hiring decisions will continue to be managed by the leadership of the chancellor-led units and remain subject to chancellor approval,” Tate said, adding that more information about the hiring freeze will be provided “in the weeks ahead.”

Rutgers spokesperson Dory Devlin said colleges and universities are facing financial pressures, including rising costs and have had to reduce their workforces and eliminate programs.

Temple University will be reducing its workforce for a second year in a row, as officials aim to reduce a projected $85 million deficit. It joins other institutions that have announced layoffs and other measures to secure finances in the face of falling enrollment, policy uncertainty and other circumstances.

“The hiring freeze is an appropriate alternative to such measures by managing fiscal challenges through careful evaluation of vacancies and prioritizing critical operational needs,” Devlin said.

The call from the unions for the hiring freeze to be undone comes as the collective groups negotiate a new contract with Rutgers administration. The previous contracts expired at the end of June.

Decena said the unions have presented their proposals and are awaiting counterproposals.

“They’ve asked questions … It has been tense at times. It has been cordial,” Decena said.

It’s a different feeling, he added, from three years ago, when the unions staged the first faculty strike in Rutgers history. The work stoppage lasted a week, with a new labor agreement ratified a month later.

Devlin said the university was approaching negotiations “with the utmost seriousness.”

“The administration and unions continue to dedicate significant time and effort to this process, approaching it in good faith and with a shared commitment to achieving a fair and sustainable outcome that reflects the interests of all parties,” she said.