It’s Day Five of an unprecedented strike that has brought Rutgers University to a virtual standstill. Unions representing some 9,000 educators, medical staff and other workers want fair wages and job security, but there’s even more at stake for instructors at the smaller Rutgers campuses in Camden and Newark. “A Black woman is likely to be paid less than a white man on the same campus — and definitely paid less than a colleague in New Brunswick,” said union representative Kyle Riismandel.
Riismandel asserts that faculty at Rutger’s flagship campus in New Brunswick routinely get paid more, and although teachers at Camden and Newark can apply to the university for parity, it’s not automatic. Striking workers want to fix that, Riismandel said. “One of our demands is a ten percent across-the-board increase for faculty in Camden and a five percent across-the-board increase in Newark … The administration has shown no interest in negotiating that issue, as far as I’ve heard.”
Travis DuBose teaches writing at Rutgers-Camden, where he said the pay discrepancy has a palpable impact on faculty morale. DuBose said he believes the administration sees Camden as a drain on resources because, unlike New Brunswick, it doesn’t generate a lot of tuition dollars from more profitable international and out-of-state students. Almost 93% of Camden students are from New Jersey.
Rutgers has said it will stay at the bargaining table until it has a fair contract for all employees. Union negotiators say “the going is grueling” and that they’re still stuck on several core issues, like equity. Contract talks are set to continue over the weekend.
