In a major step for administrative workers at the University, the administrative and supervisory staff at Rutgers elected to unionize Wednesday, effectively forming the Union of Rutgers Administrators-American Federation of Teachers.
The thought of unionization has been heavy on the minds of many administrators, especially after the unprecedented budget cuts the University suffered last year that resulted in the termination of 200 employees.
The road to the formation of the URA-AFT has not been entirely obstacle free.
Early on in the process, some pro-union workers felt intimidated after the University sent a mass e-mail that the workers perceived as anti-union. Shortly afterward, the University declared it would remain neutral on the topic of unionization - leaving the choice up to its staff.
Regardless, their cause did not go unnoticed.
In February, Gov. Jon S. Corzine came to the Labor Education Center on Douglass campus and spoke in support of unionization efforts.
"It is, actually hard to understand that in a workplace in which 70 percent - including the professors - are in organized labor, why it would be such a horrible thing to consider the further unionization of other elements of the workforce," Corzine said.
By Wednesday afternoon, the majority of 2,000 workers at the University signed union cards, which will now be taken to Trenton for authorization.
"Organizing under the check card system means that we made a decision with an actual majority of the unit because every member counts," said administrative assistant Lucye Millerand, in a prepared statement. "That is a true democratic process. Our members were able to talk about whether unionization is the right thing to do at Rutgers - and most of us have decided 'yes.'"
University administrative assistant Michelle Pinheiro said although the formation of the URA-AFT was a great victory, the work was far from over.
"Certainly the work is not done," Pinheiro said. "We're going to need input - we're talking to employees and holding campus meetings. There is a democratic process in place."
Everyone in the union has a say in what goes into the contract that URA-AFT will hopefully negotiate with the University by this July, she said.
Pinheiro said that she encountered a problem with administration while trying to help form the union, but that it was taken care of.
"I did have an incident that I felt was a problem, but it was resolved very quickly and was resolved appropriately," Pinheiro said. "[Problems were] minimized after the neutrality agreement - it is helpful to be able to say this is what the University agreed to. Whatever problems we did have were handed and handled quickly."
In a meeting yesterday, University President Richard L. McCormick reaffirmed the University's stance on unions.
"Rutgers remains completely neutral on the subject of unionization," McCormick said.
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