April 5, 2023

We, two unions of educators at Rutgers University, stand in solidarity with your fight for fair wages, health care benefits, and improved working conditions. We understand the crucial role that graduate workers play in the academic community and the vital contributions you make to the future of higher education.

We recognize that the challenges you face are not unique to the University of Michigan but are shared by academic workers across the Big 10 and across the country. The ongoing pandemic has highlighted the precariousness of your positions and exacerbated the economic and health challenges you face.

As unions, we are committed to advocating for the rights and well-being of all workers, and we believe that your demands for a living wage, affordable health care, and safe working conditions are fundamental to achieving that goal.

We urge the UM administration to engage in good-faith negotiations with your union representatives to reach a fair and equitable agreement that recognizes the value of your contributions to the university. We condemn the attempted use by UM management of an injunction to threaten your basic right to strike and point to a letter condemning similar threats made against our Union.  

We stand with you in your fight and will continue to support you until your demands are met. We cheered when Michigan abolished “right to work,” so it is dismaying to follow it with this administrative response from a flagship Big 10 institution.

In solidarity,
Rutgers AAUP-AFT and Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union