Rutgers Faculty Strike Enters Day 3, No Deal Reached

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — Negotiations between Rutgers faculty and administration have still not yielded a deal as the Rutgers' faculty strike enters Day 3 on Wednesday.

And now a fourth union of employees on the campus, Rutgers Administrators URA-AFT Local 1766, is considering joining the strike.

This is the union made up of employees who work in academic departments, admissions and financial aid offices, dining halls and university housing. They are currently polling their members to ask if they want to join the strike.

Negotiations went late into the night Tuesday and will resume at 10 a.m. Monday. Also, News 12 reports that Gov. Phil Murphy tried to cut the strike off at the pass Sunday — but by that point too much passion had built among unionized professors to launch the strike.

"I think there's been some progress, but I would also say a lot more progress needs to be made," Murphy said Tuesday night, according to News 12.

Union leaders said Wednesday morning they are "more hopeful" after two days of bargaining in the state capital. At Murphy’s invitation, the professors and Rutgers negotiators met in his office for intensive sessions that lasted well into Tuesday night.

Picketing started at 9 a.m. Wednesday with bigger gatherings planned for the early afternoon. In New Brunswick, professors on strike from all five local campuses will again descend on the College Avenue campus at 1 p.m. in front of Scott Hall (43 College Ave.) for music, followed by a march to the nearby administration buildings. There will also be a drag queen show Wednesday afternoon in front of Scott Hall in support of the strike.

There are about 9,000 Rutgers professors on strike and every night at 8 p.m. they give a public address. Rutgers-Newark history professor Whitney Strube is on the front-line bargaining team in Trenton, and on Tuesday night, he gave members an update on negotiations:

"I'll offer a brief report from the table. Hey comrades, we do feel like we're making progress," he said. "We appreciate Gov. Murphy's intervention. We had a big round of applause when he said New Jersey is a union state. We remain a united front when it comes to our most vulnerable members, such as adjuncts and grad workers. We are working for a fair and just contract. We think we're going to get there. Solidarity, comrades, we're going to win this."

You can watch the 8 p.m. Tuesday briefing from the union here:

Rutgers President Warns He May Take Legal Action To Break The Strike

One of the key things the union is asking for is a pay increase across the board, for full-time staff, part-time lecturers and graduate students who work and teach classes.

ABC 7 reports that pay increase is currently where the union and the university remain the farthest apart.

"I have a master's degree and I have to Door Dash to make extra money to make sure I have food in my home," Rutgers admissions counselor Tevin King told ABC 7.

Compare that, he said, to Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway.

"He was scheduled to earn $1.2 million," King said. "He got the house that's awarded to the position, he got a car, he got a presidential escorting service, and that was written in 2020, we're here in 2023, you're making more than $1.2 million now."

Wednesday picket line locations: 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

New Brunswick

• College Avenue Campus: 43 College Ave., outside Scott Hall, New Brunswick
• Cook/Douglass Campus: corner of George Street and Chapel Drive/Nichol Road, New Brunswick
• Livingston Campus: Livingston Student Center, 84 Joyce Kilmer Ave., Piscataway
• Busch Campus: lawn side of Weeks Hall of Engineering, 500 Bartholomew Rd., Piscataway

Newark

• Plaza in front of Robeson Campus Center, 350 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
• Plaza outside Law School, between University Avenue and Washington Street

Camden

• Outside Campus Center, near Third Street, north of Cooper Street

The scene Tuesday on Rutgers New Brunswick campus: