|
Greetings,
Exciting news! Last Tuesday, July 21, the New Jersey
Public Employment Relations Commission certified the vote of
nearly 350 post-doctoral fellows and associates to unionize
under the Rutgers Council of AAUP Chapters, AAUP-AFT. This makes
Rutgers only the third university in the country where post-docs
have successfully unionized--we're making history once
again!
The TA/GA Steering Committee is proud to welcome
our post-doctoral colleagues into the ever-expanding union
family at Rutgers; indeed, now nearly every intellectual worker
as well as most other non-executive employees are unionized.
Next fellows and associates will negotiate a contract with the
university for fair pay, benefits and working conditions--just
as faculty, lecturers and grads are negotiating our new
Winter/Summer Session contract right now. If you're sharing a
lab with a post-doc friend, or maybe just sharing a table at
lunch, be sure to let them know we're here to support them in
any way we can. That's what union means.
Of course, I'm
writing to you now because you're not yet a full member of
the union. Our post-docs worked hard to have a right you've
had all along: the right to join a union, to be a part of making
this university a better place to live and work for all of us.
Download a membership form at http://www.rutgersaaup.org/join.htm.
How
much does it cost? Okay, I get this question often--so
often, it's worth answering for all of you at once. And the
answer is... NOT MUCH. You may notice already that you pay a
"representation fee" to the union, which is plenty by itself to
pay for our most essential services--and that's only a few
dollars per paycheck. That representation fee represents 85% of
the dues paid by a full member: signing the form means, for
employees making the contractual minimum, an increase in dues of
only about $20 per year... and that's less than $1 per
paycheck! So you see... it's really not about the money. We
don't need it. What we do need is your support, your statement
that you believe in our work on your behalf.
Still have
doubts? Don't worry, we're still here for you... and you're
definitely still invited to our weekly
get-together!
GSA/Union Summer Social Hour: Meet
us at Doll's Place on Joyce Kilmer Ave in New Brunswick, Friday
July 31 any time after 9pm. Show your support by wearing a union
shirt, and the first drink is on me!
Address all
inquiries to me at taga@gsa.rutgers.edu.
In
unity,
Elric Kline
Chair, TA/GA Steering
Committee
|
