jimenezisaaca, Author at Union of Rutgers Administrators

For immediate release: September 19th 2023

Contact: union@ura-aft.org

Our union, the Union of Rutgers Administrators (URA-AFT) stands in solidarity with striking USW 4-200 nurses at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital New Brunswick. As they enter the 46th day of a strike against New Jersey’s largest private employer, we at Rutgers University stand shoulder to shoulder with our frontline workers. We support the fight not just for basic demands of compensation but workplace safety that keeps all New Jerseyans safe: safe staffing saves lives.

It is reprehensible that executives at RWJ Barnabas have spent over $54 million in replacement nurses when those resources could have been used to meet the nurses’ demands, but we know this fight for dignity and respect is about control of the workplace. RWJBarnabas wants to maintain inefficient staffing ratios on all RWJBarnabas campuses and USW 4-200 nurses want to improve them.

URA-AFT stands in solidarity with the striking USW 4-200 nurses and calls upon RWJBarnabas to meet their demands.

Take the pledge and stand up with USW 4-200 at bit.ly/ura4usw

This statement was approved unanimously by the membership of URA-AFT

The Union of Rutgers Administrators (URA-AFT) Local 1766, represents 2,500 administrative staff at Rutgers University, including staff in every academic department, business, admissions and financial aid office, dining hall, and across Rutgers housing. We are integral to student and faculty lives at Rutgers University.

Our members voted in last night’s membership meeting to launch a strike pledge drive to determine whether our membership is ready to take a strike authorization vote. This strike pledge will soon be initiated, and its results will help determine whether or not URA takes a strike authorization vote.

The URA has been bargaining for the past 10 months, but has not made much progress on many of our key priorities, including fair salary increases, telework, career pathways, and equity for our essential workers. Our members’ commitment towards a strike pledge is representative of our willingness to escalate to win a fair contract.