HPAE has reached a tentative agreement with Rowan University!

I am pleased to announce that after another extended round of negotiations, your HPAE Local 5094 and 5089 bargaining teams have reached a tentative agreement with Rowan management and the Governor’s Office for a new contract covering Rowan-SOM Professionals and Registered Nurses. This is our first contract since the break-up of UMDNJ and the merger with Rowan University. We protected the standards we’ve worked long to achieve while making a number of significant improvements.

Some highlights of the agreement include:

• Four year contract – expires June 30, 2018
• Wage increases on par with HPAE contracts at Rutgers and University Hospital including a combination of across-the-board raises, step movements, and some retroactive pay
• Rowan tuition remission for employees
• Aligned contract language with current State policies and procedures
• Streamlined layoff and bumping procedure
• Improved arbitration procedure
• Extended bereavement leave
• One merged contract for HPAE professionals and registered nurses

There are many other changes we look forward to sharing with you. A full summary will be available at the ratification and posted online.

Ratification meetings have been set up for Thursday, December 1, 2016. There are multiple sessions to provide everyone with the opportunity to vote and review the agreement:

• 8:00 am – 9:00 am – Auditorium
• 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm – Room 279
• 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Room 279
• 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Room 279

Only members are eligible to attend and vote. Membership applications will be available at the meeting.

These were long and difficult negotiations. I commend those members who showed their support for our union during this process through participation in meetings and actions. I congratulate our negotiating committee, who volunteered their time, for their commitment and hard work. We are proud of what we achieved together. We know we still have our work cut out for us. We have now collectively completed all first round negotiations for 5089 and 5094 with new employers since the merger and have proven that when we stand together, we are able to accomplish great things.

On behalf of your negotiating committee,

In Solidarity,

Deborah Cruz
Rowan Chair 5094