We are excited to announce that our union finally has a signed Tentative Agreement with the NJIT administration over a full union contract covering all graduate and research employees. We want to thank all of our members, union activists and officers, and our bargaining team members for all their hard work.

The graduate and research employee agreement contains some serious advances for graduate employees in terms of guaranteed funding, summer compensation, and wage increases. While we didn’t win everything we wanted, we feel this agreement moves the ball forward for graduate and research employees at NJIT. And we will return to the negotiating table in less than a year’s time for the next round of contract negotiations.

Some of the highlights include:
• New minimum salary of $24,000 per academic year starting in January (2019),
• Guaranteed 4 years of TA/RA funding for all PhD students,
• Guaranteed summer funding of 4 years at a minimum of $3,000,
• A one-time $400 stipend for graduate employees, who worked in the 2017-2018 academic year, paid within two weeks of the contract’s ratification,
• Increased minimum salaries and raises for research employees,
• Lowered parking costs (part-time student rate for all) and refunds for the Spring 2018

The next steps involve graduate and research employees joining the union and participating in the coming ratification vote, after a review of the contract’s terms.

Graduate and research employees will have every chance to read the UCAN-NJIT Graduate Student and Research Employee (7/1/15 – 6/30/19) Tentative Agreement and get questions answered on a series of upcoming conference calls before voting. Here are the dates and times of the conference calls, accessible for any and all graduate and research employees:

Wednesday, May 30: 12:00 – 1:00pm, EST
Thursday, May 31: 2:00 – 3:00pm, EST
Monday, June 4th: 11:00am – 12:00pm, EST

Call In Information:
Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/9921187633

International numbers available: https://zoom.us/zoomconference?m=delHvC7nqJzzrqevfNPqlTWRNnALSJgr

Or Telephone: (646) 558-8656

The terms of the contract will begin immediately, and any appointments already signed will be adjusted appropriately to reflect new salary minimums as well as new terms and conditions of employment. Graduate and research employees will now have access to a strong grievance procedure and union representation should any disputes arise in the course of their employment.

We look forward to continuing our fight to improve the wages and working conditions for NJIT employees in the coming years, and working with you in the days ahead.

Best,
United Council of Academics at NJIT
UCAN-AAUP-AFT