SOHAIL: Rutgers faculty strike should never have been suspended
Column: Nohman's Nuances
On April 15, it was announced that the first faculty strike in Rutgers history was suspended after the University's administration and three striking Rutgers unions agreed on a framework for fair labor contracts.
While I think some lecturers, postdoctoral fellows and associates may be satisfied with the benefits they received, a portion of graduate students, researchers and clinicians may still be upset with the negotiations.
On top of that, the administration is essentially "ghosting" the faculty unions with whom it bargained. In an interview with Politico, Todd Wolfson, vice president of the Rutgers American Association of University Professors and American Federation of Teachers (AAUP-AFT), said, "We got back to New Brunswick, and it’s been the same tricks ... slow bargaining, not responding to critical demands, playing whatever foolish stupid games they’ve been playing."
These difficulties beg the question: Was the strike suspended too early?
The momentum was there, as was the press and Gov. Phil Murphy (D-N.J.). Since the suspension, though, action has slowed dramatically. Despite his commitment to mediation, Murphy has not seen the fulfillment of the contract negotiations through, and coverage of faculty dissent has been near-nonexistent.
As a result of the half-cocked collaboration between the administration and the unions since the suspension, many are questioning whether they should return to the picket lines.
Standing in solidarity with the health care workers are the graduate students and the Bargaining for the Common Good Coalition, as the University has failed to meet many of its critical demands. On April 19, an entity of rotating graduate workers representing the graduate union at @RUGradsUnited tweeted a call to action in case contract negotiations are not fulfilled.
The University's health care workers are among those most impacted by administrative neglect. Last Tuesday, the American Association of University Professors at the Biomedical and Health Sciences of New Jersey (AAUP–BHSNJ) took to the streets as the only remaining union that still has not come to a resolved agreement. AAUP–BHSNJ also protested outside of the Rutgers Board of Governors meeting on April 20, but still have not received a tentative agreement.
On April 21, the main Twitter account for the Rutgers AAUP-AFT Academic Worker Union tweeted a reminder that the strike was suspended but not ended, citing the final date for the Union of Rutgers Administrators, American Federation of Teachers strike pledge as Monday, April 24. Additionally, the AAUP-AFT recently released a membership action survey to collect ideas for future protests, including an "A" strike, where professors give an unconditional A letter grade to their students.
Suspending and resuming the strike on a later date poses several problems. The first being that a central reason the administration was eager to negotiate was preserving undergraduate students' education.
Now that the semester is nearly over, the unions are close to losing this leverage. It would have been much more convenient for undergraduates, graduates and workers alike if the strike continued for another week to finalize a tentative agreement rather than two separate strikes.
The faculty union was hasty in relinquishing the most power it had since the University was founded. Not only was the executive decision to suspend the strike not voted upon by the union participants, but union leadership and University administration also had not even reached a tentative agreement at the time. As mentioned earlier, the momentum was high at the start of the strike and only increased as it continued.
Now that some demands have been met while others have not, the union may not be as motivated as it previously was.
Additionally, ending the strike without a faculty-wide vote dissuades the members of the unions from trusting their union leadership to protect their best interests. For instance, Amy Higer, president of the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union (PTLFC), said, "For our union, we got much more than we thought we could."
While the framework provided some consolation, it did not adequately address part of the faculty's most pressing concerns.
To say that I am disappointed with the decision to end the strike prematurely is an understatement. I understand that some of the faculty members were hoping to resume their duties as educators, but when you have the strength of an entire faculty body behind you, the bargaining power is immense.
The current threats of resuming the strike are a faint, pathetic echo of the warnings that preceded the initial protests.
Nohman Sohail is a first-year in the School of Arts and Sciences majoring in economics and political science. His column, "Nohman's Nuances," runs on alternate Thursdays.
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