April 18, 2023 —
Rutgers University faculty halt historic strike, vote to accept framework for contract
Three unions representing an estimated 9,000 faculty members at Rutgers University went on strike April 10 for the first time in the school’s 257-year history, bringing classes and research at New Jersey’s flagship public university to a halt.
They have since voted to accept a framework for new contracts and to suspend the strike and return to work immediately.
As recently as April 9, the two sides remained far apart on several issues which the unions now say they have made progress on, including “significant pay increases for adjuncts; substantial raises for grad workers, moving them toward a living wage; major job security improvements for adjunct and non-tenure-track faculty; union representation for graduate fellows; pay increases for postdocs; our first common good demands to center our students and communities; greater faculty control over teaching conditions, including scheduling; a common contract including academic and medical faculty; and more.”
Read more here.
AFGE, VA agree to roll over largest union contract in federal government
AFGE’s National VA Council and the Department of Veterans Affairs have reached a tentative agreement that defends critical protections for VA workers while modernizing the hiring process.
The tentative agreement includes a revised version of Article 23 (Title 5 Merit Promotion) and a rollover of the remainder of the 2011 Master Agreement, the largest union contract in the federal government, and provides health and safety protections, disciplinary procedures, performance plans, investigation rights, official time for union reps, bargaining rights, fair overtime procedures, transparent telework rights, upward mobility, and career advancement.
Read more here.
Boston Teamsters rally to prepare Aug. 1 UPS strike
More than 1,000 delivery drivers and warehouse logistics workers at United Parcel Service (UPS) rallied in force at Boston’s Teamsters Local 25 headquarters in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood April 2.
Of UPS’s global workforce of over 500,000, some 340,000 are represented by the 1.3 million-strong Teamsters, in the largest private-sector collective bargaining agreement in North America.
Read more here.