Rutgers University Strikes a Deal with Unions, Ending Historic Strike

Rutgers University and its striking unions have reached a tentative agreement to end a historic strike and resume classes next week. After five days of negotiations, the two sides announced the agreement early on Saturday morning. This agreement is being hailed as a fair and equitable resolution that raises wages and benefits and improves working conditions for faculty.

The three striking unions secured "profound victories" for students and faculty members ranging from pay increases to teaching conditions. This framework sets a new standard and would increase salaries across the board for full-time faculty and counselors by at least 14 percent by July 1, 2025. The agreement also provides a 43.8 percent increase in the per-credit salary rate for part-time lecturers over the four years of the contract while strengthening their job security.

In addition to salary increases, the agreement also increases the minimum salary for postdoctoral fellows and associates by 27.9 percent over the same contract period. The graduate students will also see their 10-month salaries increase to $40,000 over the course of the contract while receiving health care coverage and free tuition and fees. The contracts will be retroactive to July 1, 2022, according to Rutgers.

The strike was the first in Rutgers' 257-year history, and it put pressure on the school to reach this point. The unions, representing about 9,000 full- and part-time faculty, researchers and graduate students, suspended plans to strike next week. The agreement must be voted on to ratify the contract, and the unions stated that there are still some "open issues" to be resolved.

According to Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway, this agreement is a significant step forward in achieving the university's vision of a beloved community. This framework sets a new standard for higher education in the State of New Jersey and across the country. This resolution is not only beneficial to the faculty members and students, but it is also a positive development for the entire Rutgers community.