“Classes cancelled! We’re on strike!” picketing workers called out as they marched down College Avenue at Rutgers-New Brunswick on Tuesday, the second day of a historic strike by three faculty, medical and auxiliary staff unions representing about 9,000 members at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick and Camden. More than 90% of union members voted to strike after months of contract talks hit a wall.
Tense contract negotiations continued for a second day in Trenton, where Gov. Phil Murphy called all sides to huddle at the State House and “get this solved ASAP.” Hank Kalet, vice president of the adjunct professors union, said, “At this point, it doesn’t look like we have a lot of movement. There’s been movement on some of the smaller issues. But in terms of the larger issues, the core issues for us — equal pay for equal work, the recognition from management that we do the same work as everybody else as adjuncts, recognition that grads deserve to be treated as workers as well — that kind of stuff has been slow in coming.”
And now a fourth union could join the picket lines. Rutgers Administrators-AFT union — with 2,500 members who provide dining and other services — is considering a strike authorization vote.
