These are contract articles that have been resolved with a Tentative Agreement (TA) between URA and Rutgers. A new collective agreement will become effective only after a member ratification vote.
Article 2: Acting Appointment
- Employee input and signature now required on new Acting Appointment form before submission to UHR.
Article 3: Administrative Leave
- 1/2 day gain in AL for those who change from 10-month to 12-month employees.
- No loss in AL for those who change from 12-month to 10-month employees during the FY of the change.
- Cultural holidays added as a reason for AL.
Article 6: Bereavement Leave
- Bereavement leave can now be used within 120 days instead of 90.
- Requests for extensions due to a public health emergency that delays memorial observance, or for religious, cultural, or travel reasons shall not be unreasonably denied.
Article 8: Call-Back Pay
- Overtime-ineligible employees who have left their regularly-assigned University work locations will now be guaranteed a minimum of three hours of compensatory time at that work location instead of one.
Article 16: Holidays and Personal Holidays
- Juneteenth National Independence Day is now a holiday to be observed annually on the third Friday of June.
- Election Day has been added as a reason for PH, V, or AL days.
- Rutgers employees who work in county offices are guaranteed 15 paid holidays.
Article 17: Job Openings
- A minimum of two URA candidates must be interviewed before others, if they apply within the first 5 business days of the internal posting.
- All URA candidates who apply within the first 5 business days of the internal posting must be considered before external candidates may be interviewed.
- jobs.Rutgers.edu job board now filterable according to URA-AFT positions.
Article 19: Just Cause/Discipline
- A verbal warning must be specifically stated as a warning at the time it is issued.
- Rutgers shall be required to give advance notice of a pre-termination meeting to both an employee and the URA by no later than noon of the preceding business day.
Article 23: Meal Allowance
- $10 allowance beginning July 1, 2023 after working 12 consecutive hours.
- $11 allowance beginning July 1, 2025 after working 12 consecutive hours.
Article 27: Non-Hostile Work Environment
- The definition of harassment was expanded to include oral, physical or written harassment, which are now explicitly inappropriate and unacceptable.
Article 28: Overtime/Compensatory Time Benefits
- Overtime-ineligible employee excessive workload process has an improved appeal process.
Article 29: Parking
- Employees will now have their pay for parking deducted in 26 equal payments throughout the year, and can cancel their registration at any time in the fiscal year to stop further payments.
- Employees who do not purchase an annual pass can purchase up to 10 daily permits.
- Registration will automatically renew.
Article 33: Probationary Employees
- Class 1 employees who have completed a probationary period prior to entering the URA bargaining unit will not be required to serve another probation.
- Meeting to discuss any probationary extension must be held within 10 business days.
Article 34: Professional Development
- Professional Development now explicitly includes university-sponsored professional conferences, workshops, seminars, or conferences, and the ability to request an alternate work schedule has been expanded to include these items.
- Employees must have advance notification of costs that may be eligible for reimbursement for attending professional development events.
- Employees will be reimbursed for the costs of certifications and licenses required by the University or state (outside of travel expenses governed by University Policy 40.4.1).
Article 35: Reclassification
- Clarification regarding the criteria to be used for reclassification reviews.
- Clarification regarding arbitration remedies allowed for a union grievance.
- For self-initiated reclassification reviews:
- Written acknowledgement of receipt by UHR.
- Denials must include a list of all documents and comparison CARFs considered.
- Determinations to include new salary, start date, new title, and copy of new CARF.
Article 38 – Environmental Health and Safety Committee
- Quarterly labor-management conferences between Rutgers Unions and management.
- See “New: Health and Safety” below.
Article 39 – Salary Adjustments
- Additional criteria for new salary resulting from promotions.
- Additional criteria for in-range/grade salary adjustments.
- See “New: Self-Initiated In-Range/Grade Salary Adjustment Pilot Program” below.
Article 41: Salary Improvements and Appendix G
- Across-the-board raises to the annual base salary:
- FY23 – 4% retroactive to July 1,2022, if you were on payroll June 30, 2022 and through the date of payment.
- FY24 – 3.75% to July 1, 2023, if you were on payroll June 30, 2023 and through the date of payment.
- FY25 – 3.5% effective July 1, 2024, if you are on payroll June 30, 2024 and through the date of payment.
- FY26 – 3.5% of union-wide average paid as a flat dollar raise effective July 1, 2025, if you are on payroll June 30, 2025 and through the date of payment.
- No salary freeze allowed due to a fiscal emergency declaration for FY23, FY24, and FY25.
Article 58: Accessible Parking
- Rutgers shall provide additional permanent or temporary parking spaces when there are fewer parking spaces than individuals registered for accessible parking.
- Rutgers must meet in a Labor-Management Conference within 10 business days if the union requests to meet regarding the number of accessible parking spaces.
Article 60: Temporary and Casual Appointments
- A pilot program begins January 2024 through June 2026 and builds off of a recent arbitration decision which prevents Class 3 temporary appointments.
- All temporary positions must now be Class 1 for a maximum one-year appointment.
- Temporary positions only allowed for vacancies, leaves of absence, or one-time projects.
- Temporary positions are eligible for raises according to Article 41.
- Casual employees continue to have access to grievance procedure to enforce policy.
New – Health and Safety procedures:
- A procedure for working elsewhere when the indoor environment is unhealthful (including when temperatures are outside of 68-79 degrees).
- An appeals procedure for unions to challenge Rutgers safety decisions.
- Access to information and worksites by union experts to investigate safety.
New – Self-Initiated In-Range/Grade Salary Adjustment Pilot Program
- Program runs July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2026.
- Eligible to apply at 5+ years in same position and if no adjustment in prior year.
- Increases of up to 10% based on:
- relevant years of service or other market-based equity considerations
- scope, depth, impact, responsibility, or complexity of job functions
- Program is subject to grievance procedure.
Ongoing Negotiations – Health Insurance and Flex Work will continue to be negotiated at the Coalition of Rutgers Unions negotiations table.