At Rutgers-New Brunswick, students, teachers hope strike will end soon
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - A strike at Rutgers University impacts all three of its campuses, including New Brunswick, Camden and Newark.
There's no timeline on how long it will last, but both the union and university, as well as the students, are hoping a new agreement will be reached as soon as possible.
The campus at Rutgers University in New Brunswick looked quite different Monday morning as hundreds of students, staff and faculty took to the picket lines.
"We are all out here together joining picket lines in solidarity," said student Deepti Vajapey.
Unions representing 9,000 full-time and part-time faculty and staff across the three campuses voted Sunday night to go on strike after failed negotiations over the past 10 months with the university.
Union leaders say negotiations produced some movement over the last few days, but main issues remain: Equal pay for adjunct professors, job security for all faculty, and affordable housing for students.
"We are beyond frustrated. We got no raise during a time of historic inflation. Our most vulnerable workers are having trouble paying the bills, and enough is enough," said associate professor and general vice president of AAUP-AFT Todd Wolfson.
"Many of these people are part-time lecturers that go to multiple schools in order to teach and get a full living wage," said teaching instructor Willow Tanner.
Rutgers University released a statement that reads, in part, "We are working hard to reach fair and reasonable agreements with our unions, but no matter the outcome of the labor negotiations, the wellbeing of all Rutgers students will remain our top priority."
The university also adds it brought in a mediator to help the two sides reach a deal across more than 100 bargaining sessions since negotiations began last year.
Some students say their classes have been canceled, while others remain unaffected. Those CBS2's Zinnia Maldonado spoke to understand the reasoning behind the strike, but also hope it doesn't last too long.
"It's a good idea. I think they should get paid correctly," said student Manu Vallaia.
"We're paying for an education, so we should receive one. But because of the strike, and conditions provided to these workers, that's not happening," said student Hirsh Ramani.
Union members plan to rally on campus Monday afternoon.