Rutgers University members are willing to bring back the strike if contract demands aren't met soon the three unions that were on strike last week picketed today outside of Rutgers Board of Governors meeting and they were joined by a fourth union made up of admin workers whose members have started the process of authorizing a strike after Marathon negotiations last week resulted in tentative agreements for two of the unions members are keeping up the pressure on Administration through protests and rallies reminding Rutgers leadership this isn't over Ted Goldberg reports oh University our universities the university which has not been bargaining is the speed we need for the last 10 months which is the reason we went on strike once we left Trenton and the governor's office it's back to their same old Shenanigans if their bargaining team doesn't get that to the table and get us the uh articles we need so that we can tie up this contract that the strike could be back on Rutgers faculty and graduate students used picket signs drums and megaphones to vent their frustration with contract negotiations hundreds of people from various unions protested outside a Board of Governors meeting threatening to go back on strike less than a week after a tentative agreement was reached in Trenton when we agreed to suspend the strike we did so with the knowledge that and the agreement that Administration would keep working quickly on the issues that were outstanding particularly for grad students and for our Medical Faculty colleagues and they have started dragging their feet again just as they were doing before we went on strike while two unions have agreed to tentative deals with the university the third Union representing Healthcare professionals and researchers still has it not all you know segments of the unions are getting enough time at the table and that's concerning to us it feels like it could be the case that Management's trying to run out the clock they all have demands that need to be heard by management and which currently are not being sufficiently responded to those demands include things like more Paid Family Leave time and subsidies for child care there's a lot of issues with graduate workers that are still out there they need five-year fund guaranteed funding so they have predictability in their schedules they need child care support like there's this perception that grad students are just like students right they're not workers they're not adults they don't have kids we want the university to stop detendering doctors we need some critical things for our grad workers including covet extensions I'm a single parent of two pre-teens and a PhD student so things like Child Care subsidies and job security are incredibly important for me and my family I had to take off a number of semesters where my family went without an income from me because I was at home recovering and was postpartum and couldn't work Mary Nipper is a PhD student and she estimates she'll need four more years to finish her doctorate Nipper says she's in a tough spot unless the Union's demands are met essentially it puts us in a double bind so I'm forced to continue to take teaching contracts when what I really want to be doing is finishing my degree but I can't afford to do that my family to be honest we want to move on with our life like we want to get me through this degree and finish it the strike included three unions but a fourth could join them if negotiations don't pick up steam the union representing Rutgers administrators is in the process of a strike authorization pledge the step before voting for a strike the gains that we make are made through demonstrations of worker power and Community power and Union power management takes note of that there's not much time left in the semester for Rutgers and its unions to reach a deal finals start in two weeks and commencement is 10 days later in a statement Rutgers tells us quote we continue to be in Daily negotiating sessions and believe that we are coming closer to agreements every day our Focus right now is on reaching an agreement beyond the framework agreed to on Friday and supporting our students continued academic progress in New Brunswick I'm Ted Goldberg NJ Spotlight news [Music]