The Mediation Process

March 16, 2004

Members of the Rutgers Community:

On Friday, March 12, the university submitted a Notice of Impasse to the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC), thus formally requesting a third-party mediator in our contract negotiations with the Rutgers Council of AAUP Chapters. In filing the notice, we have asked PERC to expedite assignment of a mediator so that we may proceed as soon as possible. Our purpose in filing for mediation is to accelerate the positive resolution of the contract negotiations.

The function of a mediator, as described in the New Jersey Administrative Code, is “to assist all parties to come to a voluntary agreement.” A voluntary agreement is exactly the university’s desire. We have negotiated in good faith and have reached voluntary agreement on several issues, including release time for union representatives, family and medical leave, and TA/GA grievance procedures. However, we have not been able to move closer together on salary issues and merit pay; indeed, the union’s last salary proposal is costlier than its previous proposal and is evidence that we are moving farther apart.

Once PERC assigns a mediator, he or she will hold conferences with the union and the university. These conferences may be either joint or separate at the mediator’s preference. Through these conferences, the mediator will work with both sides to move toward agreement on the terms of a contract.

Our goal in requesting a mediator is to move this university forward.
Rutgers’ academic achievements rest fundamentally on faculty and graduate students, and we need to break the impasse and achieve a contract that ensures they are well and competitively compensated. I believe it is in the best interests of both sides – and the interests of the Rutgers community – to enter into mediation and to move aggressively toward resolution with a mediator’s assistance.

Richard L. McCormick
President
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey