August 3, 2004

Dear Colleague,

In secret ballots counted on Monday, August 2^nd, the membership of the Rutgers Council of AAUP Chapters overwhelmingly approved a new contract for 2003-2007, covering all full-time faculty, teaching assistants, and graduate assistants. The vote was 1070 in favor (96.4%), 37 opposed (3.3%), and 3 abstaining (.3%). Twenty invalid ballots were not counted.

This is the largest turnout in Rutgers AAUP history and reflects the growing vitality of our union. The highly positive result also conveys the membership’s deep appreciation for the arduous work done by the AAUP negotiating committee, led by Professor of Chemistry Robert Boikess.

Some members availed themselves of the opportunity provided on the ballot to comment anonymously on the contract, and as soon as we have assembled the printable responses, we will post them on the AAUP website, www.rutgersaaup.com. In advance of doing so, however, we can inform you that some of these comments addressed the shamefully low pay received by PTLs, who have made very little progress in negotiations with the administration for their own contract.

We will keep you posted on committee work and other AAUP matters as developments occur.

In solidarity,

Bill Tucker, Vice-President