FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24, 2004

CONTACT:
Karen Thompson
732-445-2278, ext. 21
732-572-6121

Representatives of the Part-time Lecturers Faculty Chapter of the Rutgers AAUP (PTLFC-AAUP) and the Rutgers Administration met today with a state mediator but were unable to resolve their contract dispute. The session lasted less than three hours with the administration making no movement from its previous position.

Fall semester classes begin on September 1 and there are currently no additional mediation sessions scheduled.

The PTLFC Executive Board will meet tomorrow to discuss its next steps. Karen Thompson, co-chair of the PTL negotiating team, called on President McCormick to get directly involved to assure teachers and students that there will be a productive start to the fall semester. "We are starting to wonder if the president is getting an accurate report from his side about what is happening at the bargaining table. To quibble over such small amounts makes no sense, especially when you consider that many of those that will be affected are graduate students that teach as PTLs as they finish their degrees. It is good educational and employment policy to ensure fair compensation by raising the minimums."

In related events away from the table, the full time faculty union and its TA/GA Steering Committee sent separate letters to President McCormick in support of their PTL colleagues and encouraged a quick and fair settlement. The president of the Graduate Student Association, the governing body for all graduate students at Rutgers, also sent a letter of support to the university president. (3 letters attached)

"Our hope is that we can reach a settlement before the start of the semester. But it will take a willingness by the administration to make that happen," added Thompson.

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Links to AAUP letters to President McCormick:

AAUP Letter dated August 24, 2004
TA/GA Steering Committee Letter dated August 24, 2004