Greetings,

I write to you today to communicate that the Executive Council of the Rutgers AAUP-AFT recommends Jon Corzine’s reelection as Governor of New Jersey. This action was taken last Wednesday at its first meeting of the semester. It was followed on Friday by an endorsement of Governor Corzine by AFT New Jersey, our state-wide affiliate.

This recommendation was not done lightly. It is clear to all of us that higher education, in general, and Rutgers, more specifically, has been on a bumpy funding ride over the past four years under Governor Corzine’s leadership. We should recognize that he is the unfortunate steward of our state budget during the worst global economic downturn since the Great Depression. He also inherited a structural budget deficit from previous administrations, under the leadership of both parties.

We have been frustrated at times by the slow pace of higher education appointments and reforms. On the other hand, he has included in his cabinet the executive director of the Commission on Higher Education and supports legislation that will elevate that position to Secretary of Higher Education. The same legislation will create greater oversight of our state’s higher education system and will require budget accountability at each state college and university, including Rutgers. As we know from this past summer, this is an area where we would all like to shine a spotlight.

Governor Corzine has also been a strong supporter of labor issues.  The Governor was critically important to the formation of the Union of Rutgers Administrators, our new AFT local at Rutgers. Nearly 2,000 staff at the university are now union members with a contract in place because the Governor stood up for their right to organize. Beyond that, he challenged the University administration to remain neutral, as a public employer, during this process. Since then, our union has organized over 1,000 summer and winter instructors and over 350 post-doctoral associates. Jon Corzine has protected our right to organize and has consistently defended the collective bargaining process from legislative and employer attacks, even when it has made his own job harder.  And, importantly, he championed family leave insurance for all New Jersey workers.

When the Legislature attempted a few years back to strip part-time employees, including PTLs, of their pension benefits, the Governor worked with us to maintain that benefit. At the same time, TAs and GAs were threatened by legislative action with losing their state health benefits. Again, the Governor’s Office moved quickly to preserve the benefits.

Our recommendation has been made easier by the positions taken by his main opponent, Republican Christopher Christie. Mr. Christie has made it clear that he views public employees, like you and me, as the main problem facing the state. We earn too much and our health and retirement benefits are too generous. Over the next few weeks, we will be sharing more information with our members on where the candidates stand on the issues.

Governor Corzine has chosen State Senator Loretta Weinberg as his running-mate for the newly-created position of Lieutenant Governor. We couldn’t have thought of a better candidate and commend the Governor on his judgment. Senator Weinberg has stood up to corruption at the state level and in her own Bergen County. She has even fought within her own party to champion clean and transparent government.  

Beyond those important traits, she has been in the forefront of progressive causes and legislation in both the State Senate and the General Assembly. She was the chief critic in the Legislature to clean up corruption at UMDNJ and she remained critical when the federal monitor was overseeing the university. She was a prime sponsor in the Senate of the Family Leave Insurance legislation that is now law. She also sponsored the New Jersey Domestic Partnership Act and the civil union law. As chief sponsor of a bill to require a health impact study of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield’s conversion to a for-profit, Weinberg has been in the forefront of protecting our access to health insurance.

When the union set out on this recommendation process, we sent out surveys to the candidates. Governor Corzine was the only one to return the survey and he met with the union’s leadership to discuss his positions. We know Jon Corzine and we believe we can work with him more closely in his second term. We lost a great resource when Jane Oates, the previous Executive Director of the Commission on Higher Education, left New Jersey to work in the new Obama administration. We expect her replacement will fill a greater role in shaping higher education policy in the state. We look forward to working with Governor Corzine in his second term, and the newly-elected Lieutenant Governor Loretta Weinberg, to smooth and brighten the road for Rutgers, its faculty, students and staff, and all of higher education.

Jon Corzine is currently behind in the polls and he has a tough road ahead of him over the next seven weeks. The AAUP-AFT leadership, membership and staff will be working to get him reelected. We will be joining with other unions for phone calls, door knocks and other “Get Out the Vote” efforts for the only pro-worker candidate in the gubernatorial race. In fact, you may receive an AFT phone call as early as this week.

We recognize that your vote is a personal decision. I encourage you to consider this recommendation letter and the other materials we will be sending, before you vote on November 3^rd. If you have any questions, please let us know. If you are inclined to work with us on our election efforts, we would appreciate your time and effort. You can contact the union office at (732) 964-1000 or by emailing aaup@rutgersaaup.org .

Sincerely,

Adrienne Eaton, President

Rutgers AAUP-AFT