FAQs on ADA/Reasonable Accommodations and Coronavirus Information

A document addressing FAQs on ADA guidelines and reasonable accommodations will be available by late this afternoon (Tuesday, July 28th) on the Council of New Jersey State College Local's website. Please take a moment to review it.

Addendum to Statewide, Furlough-In-Lieu-of-Layoffs Agreement for H1B Visa Holders and For Those Funded by Grants

The agreement on furloughs in lieu of layoffs of our bargaining unit members between the Council of New Jersey State College Locals (Council), our statewide AFT representative body, and the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations (OER) and the nine state university/college presidents became official on July 6. Since then, two additional issues had to be resolved. 

According to federal law, those unit members on H1B visas lose their visa status if furloughed. Therefore, the Council and OER negotiated an addendum to the agreement to exempt H1B visa holders from the 12 days of furlough. You can click here, on this link, to access the H1B visa addendum to the agreement. 

In addition, some of our members’ positions are funded by external grants that could be lost if staff are furloughed. To resolve this issue, the Council and OER negotiated an addendum to the agreement whereby those funded on external grants would be assigned furloughs relative to the percentage of salary funded by the university versus the granting agency, if the university determines that the grant could be jeopardized if the staff member was furloughed. You can click here, on this link, to access the grant-funded exception to furlough addendum to the agreement.

Statewide Agreement on Furloughs in Exchange for Job Protection Passes

Our statewide agreement on furloughs in exchange for job protection has been approved by the membership of our statewide Council, and will therefore go into effect immediately.

The major points of the agreement, as summarized in a document on the Council's website, consist of the following:


FURLOUGHS

Each College/University has a right to implement up to twelve (12) unpaid furlough days. A College/University may implement fewer days but cannot implement more than 12.


SALARY DEFERRAL

The wage increases payable in July 2020 and September 2020 respectively (the FY 2021 increase) will now be deferred to July 2022 and September 2022. This salary deferral is consistent with existing terms of the Statewide Master Agreement (Article XLI.A.6).


JOB PROTECTION/NO LAYOFFS

In exchange for accepting 12 furlough days and deferring our increases, the College/Universities agree that no unit member will be laid off from employment between now and January 1, 2022 (except where an academic program is permanently terminated).

2020 Becker-Keenen-Moore-Brook-Uhia-Waller, Yovnello, and Nunn Scholarship Awards

The AFT Local 1904 is very pleased to have awarded nine scholarships in 2020! Recipients were acknowledged virtually (via Zoom) at our Membership Meeting on Wednesday, May 6th, 2020.

Pictured above, from left to right, beginning with the top row are scholarship recipients Daniel Aguiar-Salazar (BKMBUW), Daniel Andrade (Yovnello), Lindsay Bicher (BKMBUW), Mario Cifuentes (BKMBUW), Patrick Clackner (BKMBUW), Nicole Kuperus (Yovnello), Dayanna Martinez (BKMBUW), Trinity Stackhouse (BKMBUW), and Jenny Yeung (BKMBUW). Recipients are all undergraduate students in various majors, in good academic standing, with strong scholastic aspirations, and who have demonstrated that they would substantively benefit from the support of the scholarship as a resource.

Our heartfelt thanks to members of the 2020 Scholarship Committee: Carmen Reyes-Cuevas, Lisa Williams, Catherine Baird, Reginald Halaby, and Karen Mingo-Campbell. Also, sincere thanks to All those who provided recipients letters of recommendation for our students, to the Local Office Manager, Deb Corasio, for helping to manage the scholarship applications, and to the Officers of the Local 1904 for supporting the Scholarship Committee's award recommendations.

The BKMBUW Scholarship Fund was originally established in 1997 (followed shortly by establishment of Yovnello and Nunn awards—the Nunn award reserved specifically for students who are single parents). The Scholarship currently honors Catherine A. Becker, James P. Keenen III, Joseph T. Moore, Kenneth H. Brook, Anita E. Uhia, and Connie Waller, all former faculty and active union members who were deeply committed to the principles of collective bargaining and to helping our students who demonstrate a significant economic need. 

Please consider contributing to the fund, including in another's name (loved one, etc.). To give to the Fund, please do so via this link or via the Foundation, earmarked for “BKMBUW."

Congratulations to all nine 2020 recipients!