The Laborer's local 78 is charging that Rutgers is endangering health and safety on Newark Campus by using a substandard contract for asbestos abatement.

On Tuesday, March 16, Gov. Christie unveiled his budget proposal for the coming year. His vision includes over $1 billion in cuts to education with almost $200 million in direct cuts to public higher education. These cuts are coupled with a tax cut of over $1 billion for New Jerseyans making more than $400,000 per year. It’s just not right to cut over a billion dollars from education and give the money to millionaires.

Please click through to http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/2010njbudget to ask your legislators to fund education in this year's budget and send this message to co-workers, friends and family who care about education.

Charles Wowkanech, March 18th, 2010 - 12:38pm
The budget speech given on Tuesday by Governor Christie clearly illustrates his priorities – including disproportionately shifting the tax burden away from businesses and the wealthy, and onto New Jersey’s middle class and most vulnerable. The clearest indication of this is letting the surcharge on the wealthiest New Jersey residents expire, while scaling back the earned income tax credit for the working poor. Reducing unemployment benefits for those most adversely impacted by the economic downturn while simultaneously relaxing the level of contributions to the fund by corporations and business also illustrates this; as does his actions to again fail to contribute any money to the pension system. By not funding the pension system at the state level, the obligation is being passed down to local governments to pay for the state share. This is a tax on towns throughout New Jersey. Short changing the pension systems does not save money, it simply defers costs. Blaming government for New Jersey’s fiscal problems does not recognize that New Jersey, like every other state, is in the midst of the worst global economic downturn since the great depression. Balancing the budget by imposing financial hardship on the middle class and working poor are not acceptable solutions.

“If my campus was officially closed because of the weather emergency, how can you justify charging me personal time for not coming into my closed office on my closed campus?” asked Newark Campus lead steward Dorothy Grauer. Yet Newark and Camden URA members find themselves in just that situation and the union has filed a grievance.

Had Rutgers management made the right decision and closed New Brunswick Campus offices on Feb. 10 and 11, New Brunswick members would not have to charge personal time when it was not safe to come to work. Now university management has informed Newark and Camden Campus workers that they will lose personal time during delayed openings on Feb. 11—while their campuses were closed.

As a reminder to URA members, the program for instituting raises is currently proceeding. Our members voted to agree to defer last year’s raise (due July 1, 2009), so the university Staff Compensation Program (SCP) is scheduled to award raises on July 1, 2010. The raise consists of two parts:
1. Across-the-board (2.5%): Eligible administrative employees will receive an across-the-board salary increase of 2.5 percent, effective July 1, 2010. In addition, salary scales for our unit will be increased by 2.5 percent.
2. Merit (1 to 7%): In addition to the across-the board increase, a salary pool of 2.5 percent of the salary base of eligible employees will be awarded for merit-based increases. Employees who are rated as “meet standards” shall receive a merit increase to their base salary ranging from 1 to 7 percent.

If you are counting the days towards retirement in the next few months, consider sticking around at least until the first week of July when the three remaining days of your paid leave bank are awarded.

URA legislative chair Helen Pirrello's advocacy for the Silver Alert legislation which is creating a response system for people with cognitive disorders like Alzheimer's who often go missing is noted in a brief article in AFT's "On Campus" higher education publication. President Lucye Millerand calls the potentially lifesaving system a tribute to Pirrello's activism.

Sandra Jenkins

"Your request to URA to create a hardship/compassionate fund for members in crisis and layoff has been heard. We want to provide support for members facing stress related to layoff and other life situations.Will you help?

Good Jobs Now (http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/DdABxDs1FQS9/), a
new interactive Web site from the AFL-CIO, gives workers, people who have lost their jobs and activists a chance to take action, share their stories, find resources and, most important, be part of a grass-roots movement to help the nation climb out of its 10 million-jobs hole created by the recession. [Read more at http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/J7ABxDs1FQS8/.]

The American Federation of Government Employees has filed a
petition with the Federal Labor Relations Authority to be the
exclusive representative for 40,000-plus transportation security officers. The TSOs are the Transportation Security
Administration employees who work hard to keep safe the more
than 600 million people who fly each year. In 2003, the Bush
administration stripped the workers of collective bargaining
rights, and AFGE has been fighting ever since to regain those
rights.

According to Charlie Wowkanech, President, NJ AFL-CIO, "[C]orporations have received four unemployment tax cuts since 1998, with savings to corporations ranging from $250 million to $450 million per year. Additional steps have been taken recently on behalf of employers, including diverting $300 million from the general fund to the unemployment insurance fund to delay an employer tax increase.

N.J. labor unions lawsuit claims Gov. Chris Christie's 'pay to play' restrictions violates First Amendment
By Peggy Ackermann/Statehouse Bureau
February 24, 2010, 7:47PM

TRENTON — Four labor unions sued Gov. Chris Christie today, saying he illegally extended state "pay to play" restrictions to them in an executive order he signed last month.

Calling the governor’s order "completely illegal," Hetty Rosenstein, state director for the Communications Workers of America, said it violates the state constitution’s separation of powers provision, the federal constitution’s equal protection guarantees and union members’ First Amendment rights.

"The governor cannot just issue a piece of paper and have it change the law," Rosenstein said. "The Legislature gets to legislate, not the governor."

In addition to the CWA, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Employees-Local 195 and the American Federation of Teachers are asking the state Appellate Division to stay the order.

We want to hear from you! Visit the new AFT Voices at http://www.aft.org/voices/submitcomment.cfm?qid=22 to share your opinion by answering our the following survey question:

What's being privatized on your campus? Bookstore? Cafeteria? Instruction? Tell us your concerns.

In the event of a severe winter storm, the university routinely cancels classes and yet keeps offices open, requiring staff to report to work. Canceling classes is the right decision because it keeps faculty and students safe and off the roads. Why is this same protection not extended to staff? Why are our lives and personal safety put at risk when other groups are protected?