Rutgers University officials are asking students and staff to report which faculty members are not holding classes during the ongoing faculty strike. They also want to know if anyone encounters difficulty crossing a picket line.
“Prompt reporting of activities which may constitute a strike activity or action is critical to the university’s ability to fulfill its mission of teaching and service,” reads an FAQ for students posted to the university’s website. It links to a form that can only be accessed by staff and students with a login to the site.
Screenshots of the form that were shared with Gothamist show it also asks students to keep any documentation about their canceled classes, such as emails, text messages or voicemails.
Rebecca Givan, president of the union that represents full-time faculty, said she first saw the form on Thursday night, after four full days of negotiations convened by Gov. Phil Murphy. Those negotiations continued on Friday as well.
Givan says she believes the university is collecting information it would need if it decides to ask a court to stop the strike. If that happened, the university would need proof of which professors break any such court order to then charge them with contempt.
It could also help the university withhold pay and benefits during the strike, she said.
University President Jonathan Holloway said in messages to the Rutgers community over the last few weeks that he believes public worker strikes are “illegal” and “unlawful.” On Monday, he announced that, at Murphy’s request, he would hold off on pursuing court action so long as progress in negotiations continued. But he said at the time if there’s no movement, “we will have no choice but to take legal action to assure the continued academic progress of our students and prevent irreparable harm.”
The strike began on Monday, and both sides have since repeatedly said progress is being made in the negotiations. But the university questionnaire is not sitting well with union members.
Todd Wolfson, an associate professor in the communications department, called it “shameful” on Twitter.
Rahul Sawant, a senior who is majoring in marketing, said on Friday that he supports the strike and won’t be filling out the form.
“I think that’s extremely insensitive to the professors and what they’re standing for,” Sawant said. “The university is clearly just turning a blind eye for their own profits and it’s really just disgusting to me the way they’re handling this whole situation. I really value my professors and I think they should get the full respect that they deserve.”
The university has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Three unions are striking. AAUP-AFT represents 5,000 full-time faculty, graduate workers, postdoctoral associates and Educational Opportunity Fund counselors. The Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union, which represents 2,700 part-time lecturers, and the Rutgers AAUP-Biomedical and Health Sciences of New Jersey, which represents about 1,300 physicians, researchers and health science faculty, are also on strike.
The unions said in an update to members on Thursday night that they’d made “incredible gains” in their negotiations for higher compensation for adjunct faculty members, who union leaders say currently earn $6,500 for a three-credit class. But they said they’re still struggling in negotiations to secure more job security for the adjuncts, who must reapply for jobs every semester. They’re also seeking longer contracts for non-tenure-track faculty, more pay for graduate student workers, a freeze on student housing costs, and a $15 minimum campuswide minimum wage that would also apply to students.
