Members Overwhelmingly Ratify ’23-’27 Contract

After a prolonged period of hard-fought negotiations and successful voting outreach, our members overwhelmingly voted in favor of the proposed 2023-2027 Agreements with the state of New Jersey. The ’23-’27 FT/PT Employee MOA and ’23-’27 Adjunct Faculty MOA are now available on our Documents page, along with the associated ’23-’27 FT/PT Salary Charts.

Among William Paterson AFT members who voted, 96.9% of FT/PT members voted in favor of ratification, as did a whopping 100% of Adjunct Faculty! Combined, 97.7% of WPU voters were in favor. Statewide, 98.48% of FT/PT AFT members voted in favor of ratification, as did 96.87% of adjuncts.

The unmistakably positive voting results speak to the strength of the negotiated gains in the Contract, which Council summarized at the beginning of the Agreements linked above. The negotiating team worked tirelessly throughout 2023 to secure a Contract that not only recognizes the dedication and hard work of our union members but also addresses the evolving needs and challenges within the higher education landscape. The Contract is a result of extensive discussions and compromises to ensure that it reflects the best interests of our diverse membership.

AFT leadership is proud of this excellent Contract and is grateful for members’ continued support of our union. We could only achieve these gains through members’ collective strength, dedication, and resolve.

Turning the page on 2023, our Local’s leadership team wishes all members a peaceful, joyful, and restful holiday season as we look forward to making further labor progress in the new year.

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Amendments to Our Constitution

We ratified changes to our Constitution at our December 14th meeting. The revisions involved:

  • Clarifying election procedures in Article IV, Section 3.
  • Specifying the Budget Committee’s role in recommending compensation.
  • Providing additional detail about committee roles in Article V, Section 1, and their chairpersons in Section 2.
  • Formally eliminating the Executive Vice President and Communications Director positions due to their long-standing vacancies.
  • Adding a Non-Tenure Track Teaching Professional Officer position.
  • Clarifying the process by which General meetings are scheduled in May.
  • Revising the process by which the Constitution is amended and made available to members.

The amended Constitution can be found in the main section of our Documents page, while its previous iteration has been moved to the same page’s Recent Historical Documentation section.

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New Retirement and Separation Incentives for 2024

AFT Local 1796 has collaborated with WPU’s HR department to devise new retirement and separation incentives for 2024. You can read them on HR’s website, along with an FAQ.  According to HR, “Eligible employees may apply, and the University will approve applications contingent upon its operational needs and the fiscal impact of a proposed transition/separation. Please note that the University is not likely to approve applications from employees in high demand programs such as Nursing and Speech Language Pathology.”

For complete details, please refer to HR’s email announcement dated October 11th, 2023.

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A Call to Wear Your Blue Shirt and Button

We are currently working to negotiate Contracts that provide comparable gains with our Rutgers and CWA brothers and sisters. While the Union cannot promise that we will achieve what Rutgers or CWA achieved, our Local negotiators and all those at the bargaining tables promise that we are committed to negotiating Contracts that provide meaningful, significant salary increases and protection of worker rights.

In order to achieve these gains, the Executive Board of our Local needs your help.  We need to show solidarity and support for what the Union is working to achieve.  We are asking you to join us in the following symbolic but important actions:

  • Wear your AFT blue t-shirt or carry it at all meetings where administrators are present (i.e. Enrollment and Budget, Senate, Chairs’ Meetings with Deans and/or Provost; any and all meetings where management is present)
  • Wear the Local 1796 “No Contract: Still Working, Always Caring” button in class so that students will make inquiries about what it means.  Spend a few minutes of class time explaining what is going on regarding our Contract status.
  • Attend AFT General Meetings and wear or carry the AFT blue t-shirt (and the button).
  • At the bottom of your email, add the following language to mirror the button:

AFT Faculty and Staff Working
Without a Contract

*Still Working
*Always Caring

Please show your support by engaging in the aforementioned symbolic actions.  Please note that other Locals are also engaging in similar symbolic actions.

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AFT Local 1796 Buttons Are Now Available

We distributed our new AFT Local 1796 buttons at our general meeting on September 19th. If you weren’t able to attend, please stop by the AFT office in Grant Hall #233 or contact the office to make arrangements to pick one up.

Together, let’s make it known that even when we’re working without a contract, we’re always doing right by our students.

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