HPAE 5089 Members: Rutgers’ Economic Proposal and Strike School
Yesterday, in our 16th negotiation session, the University finally presented their wage proposal. The University’s wage proposal is a one-year proposal with no step movement. It would give most of our members only a 1% raise and many of our members a 0% raise. After more than six months of bargaining, Rutgers provided a blanket, haphazard proposal that does not fit with our needs and our contract.
Management continues to bargain in bad faith. They refused to provide responses to our other economic proposals – shift differentials, certification pay, weekend differentials among others. We demanded that the University respond to all our economic proposals.
During lunch, a group of around twenty nurses respectfully delivered the petition that hundreds of our nurses signed to management. Within thirty minutes of delivering the petition – the petition that called on management to bargain in good faith – management canceled the rest of the session.
Our members deserve better. Rutgers cannot claim they are in a fiscal crisis, while also throwing away millions of dollars on an Athletics program that is hemorrhaging money. In order to win a strong contract, we need to organize and fight for it. Our power comes from our members getting involved and standing together.
On November 11th at 7pm, we will be launching our first session of Strike School: Becoming Strike Ready. This will be an educational session to discuss what is a strike, what is the process of going on strike, and what it takes to pull off a successful strike. This will be open to all members to discuss and ask questions. Please register for the Zoom here:
Coalition of Rutgers Union Update
On Friday, 10/23, the Coalition of Rutgers Unions (CRU) met with Rutgers. Collectively, we let management know that bargaining in the press is unacceptable, and disrespectful. We had discussions on flex work and the “subject to” language around fiscal emergencies. Our goal is to eliminate that; we had a moratorium in it in the previous contract. Next meeting dates are 11/13.
We look forward to seeing you at Strike School!
In solidarity,
HPAE Local 5089 Bargaining Team
Sabrina Brown Oliver Peck, VP Local 5089, APN UCHC
Randa Francis, VP Local 5089, APN, RWJMS
Rachel Woodall-Thomas, Grievance Chair 5089 Rutgers, RN UCHC
Joe Bentivegna, APN UCHC
Arcival Salazar, APN RWJMS
Joan Santner, RN UBHC
Tara Andino, RN, UCHC
Uchenna Nwankwo, RN
Dawn Yuhas, RN, RWJMS
Susan Bauer, CRNA, RWJMS
Kathleen Kakfa, Research Nurse Clinician, CINJ