Academy for Academic Personnel Administration

Fall 2003

Round Table Report

 

1.  Institution Information

 

Name of Institution/System: Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey         

 

Name of Individual Responding: John B. Wolf

 

Title of Individual Responding: Deputy University Counsel

 

2a. Description of Faculty Bargaining Unit(s) – Size and Composition

 

Regular faculty, including librarians, extension faculty and county agents (total 2,500); unit also includes teaching assistants and graduate assistants (1650)

 

Bargaining Agent:  Rutgers Council of AAUP Chapters

 

Date of First Contract:  1970

 

Number of Succeeding Contracts:  11

 

2b. Description of Faculty Bargaining Unit(s) – Size and Composition

 

Part-time lecturers (per-course instructors with no duties beyond those associated with the course; known elsewhere as adjuncts)  (625)   There are an additional 225 PTLs in their first semester of service and, thus, not yet included in bargaining unit

 

Bargaining Agent:  Rutgers Council of AAUP Chapters

 

Date of First Contract:  1991

 

Number of Succeeding Contracts:  3

 

2c. Description of Faculty Bargaining Unit(s) – Size and Composition

 

Bargaining Agent: 

 

Date of First Contract:       

 

Number of Succeeding Contracts:       

 

2d. Description of Faculty Bargaining Unit(s) – Size and Composition

 

Bargaining Agent:       

 

Date of First Contract:       

 

Number of Succeeding Contracts:       

 

 

3. Activity Report (e.g., status of current agreement or negotiations, details of last contract settlement, etc.):

-          above contracts, as well as 7 others covering staff employees, expired on June 30, 2003

-          1995-1999 faculty contract represented watershed event in faculty collective negotiations at Rutgers; automatic salary increments were eliminated; salary program that formerly was based upon automatic increases (ATB and increments) (90% of salary program) and only 10% merit based was changed to 50% ATB and 50% merit based

-          1999-2003 faculty contract successfully employed mutual gains negotiations process resulting in contract resolution before expiration of prior contract for first time in Rutgers’ history

-     In current negotiations, AAUP has reverted to traditional positional bargaining, and has proposed reinstatement of automatic salary increments and dramatic reduction of faculty merit pay program

 

4. Special or noteworthy happenings (e.g., relevant arbitration or court decisions, organizing campaigns, labor agency decisions, etc.)

 

5.  Special happenings related to fiscal issues (e.g., salary reductions, health and dental insurance costs, reductions in force, early retirement programs, program consolidation or elimination, etc.):

-     2001-2002:

-     mid-year cut in state appropriation of approximately 6.6%, or $26M, necessitated by state budget gap of $2B

-     various reorganizations, layoffs and other budget reduction strategies implemented

-     state early retirement incentive program for eligible staff and faculty; faculty incentive for those 50 years old with 25 years of service is 60% of salary paid over 2 years into faculty members retirement annuity

 

-     2002-2003:

-     no increase in state appropriation

-     no restoration of 2001-2002 cut

-     no state appropriation for salary program

-     9.9% tuition increase

-     contractual salary obligations fulfilled

 

-    2003-2004:

-    $20m cut in state appropriation to Rutgers ($332m reduced to $312m), even

though state spending overall rose slightly

     -      9% tuition increase

     -      State has concluded negotiations with some of its unions for 2003-2007.  Contracts call for yearly salary increments (step movement) for employees not at top of scale; PLUS 0% ATB in 2003-2004; 2.9% ATB in 2004-2005; 4% in 2005-2006; and 4.6% in 2006-2007, PLUS additional step added to top of guide in 2006

     -      State’s reliance on one-time revenue sources in 2003-2004 budget (e.g., tobacco settlement revenues) portend difficult budget times in 2004-2005