For faculty at New Jersey’s State colleges and universities, AFT membership means you are a part of a labor organization whose faculty constituency dates back to the early 20th century. The Council has represented faculty at New Jersey’s state colleges and universities since 1973 and has proudly negotiated, administered and defended over a dozen contracts since then.
The Council and the AFT are dedicated to helping members prosper in the face of political, economic and technological forces, which challenge your rights to determine not only your working conditions but also your ability to protect tenure and academic freedom and to maintain your role in shared governance on your campuses. Faculty participation in the Union is the key to negotiating and administering contracts that protect your employment rights.
Academic Freedom and Copyright Ownership go hand-in-hand as we see an ever increasing reliance on technology in education, because it changes our understanding of academic freedom, privacy and copyright ownership in the academy. ARTICLE V- Academic Freedom, Article XXXIII- Copyright Ownership and Article XXXIV- Online Courses define your rights under the contract, which address intellectual property issues and the pursuit of knowledge in a technological age. Click here for more on copyright ownership in our Agreement.
Tenure
Faculty tenure is a statutory right under N.J.S.A. 18A. It is meant to protect faculty from political patronage and the whims of college and university administrations. The relevant language for faculty on tenure lines comes under 18A: 60-7. Definitions, as follows:
As used in this act, the following words and phrases shall have the following meaning:
“Academic rank” means instructor, assistant professor, associate professor and professor.
“Faculty member” means any full-time member of the teaching staff appointed with academic rank. Other full-time professional persons shall be considered faculty members if they concurrently hold academic rank.
The conditions for earning tenure are provided by 18A: 60-8, tenure in academic rank:
Faculty members shall be under tenure in their academic rank, but not in any administrative position, during good behavior, efficiency and satisfactory professional performance, as evidenced by formal evaluation and shall not be dismissed or reduced in compensation except for inefficiency, unsatisfactory professional performance, incapacity or other just cause and then only in the manner prescribed in subarticle B of article 2 of Chapter 6 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, after employment in such college or by such board of trustees for
a. 5 consecutive calendar years; or
b. 5 consecutive academic years, together with employment at the beginning of the next academic year; or
c. the equivalent of more than 5 academic years within a period of any 6 consecutive academic years.
There is also a provision for the granting of early tenure under 18A: 60-9: Tenure by exceptional action after 2 years service
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 3 [8] of this act a board of trustees may, as an exceptional action and upon the recorded two-thirds majority roll call vote of all its members and upon the recommendation of the president, grant tenure to an individual faculty member after employment in such college or by such board of trustees for 2 consecutive academic years. The provisions of this section shall not be negotiable as a term and condition of employment under the “New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act, P.L. 1968, c. 303
Shared Governance
Shared Governance means that faculty members participate in significant decisions about how best to achieve the academic mission of their institutions. The AFT considers shared governance as democracy in action, ensuring that academic decisions are made based on sound academic policies and not on political whims or commercial reasons. Shared governance is undertaken by elected faculty committees working with the administration. On AFT campuses, the union contract often guarantees shared governance rights, and the union may play a role in implementing shared governance.
Contract language related to shared governance
Article IX – Union Board Relations guarantees the Union the right to designate a Local UNION observer, plus one additional person, to observe public budget hearings conducted by the Board of Trustees or any committee of the Board of Trustees of that College/ University. Our contract also ensures that Union has the right to speak on your behalf at Boards of Trustees meetings. And finally, we have hard-won language that allows each local union to appoint one union representative and an employee observer to all college-wide committees and to establish the selection procedures for making those appointments.
ARTICLE XVIII – Department Chairpersons
Historically, the academic department has been a bridge between the divide of institutional needs versus academic programming. The department chair plays an important role related to organizing faculty in support of or in dissent towards institutional and curriculum reforms and re-conceptualizing department leadership. Article XVIII in our contract provides that department chairpersons “shall be elected by members of the department” and sets forth the process for chair elections.
Faculty Advancement in Rank
The historical relevance of union contracts that provide equity in career advancement is formalized in our contract’s procedures for career development, promotions, range adjustments and sabbaticals. Your union contract ensures that all personnel procedures related to career advancement are conducted fairly and equitably for all candidates per Article XIII. Follow these links for contract language to: Promotion Procedure - Sabbatical Leaves - Career Development Program. See Faculty Ranges/Salaries tab for Range Adjustment information.
Article XXI – SALARY AND FRINGE BENEFIT AGREEMENT not only provides equity in the distribution of salary and fringe benefits regarding faculty rank, but also it provides for annual across-the-board increases and step increments based on your anniversary date (Article XXII).
The salary ranges for the 10‑month faculty titles listed below are as follows:
Instructor Ranges 18, 20 and 21
Assistant Professor Ranges 22, 24, 25 and X
Associate Professor Ranges 26, 28, 29 and X
Full Professor Ranges 30, 32, 33 and X
The salary ranges for the 12-month faculty titles listed below will be as follows:
Instructor Ranges 21, 22 and 23
Assistant Professor Ranges 25, 27, 28 and X
Associate Professor Ranges 29, 31, 32 and X
Full Professor Ranges 33, 35 and X
“X” means a position that has no salary range. The salary for each faculty person in any academic rank in an “X” range position shall be set in the same manner as is currently done for the “X” range Full Professor academic rank.
5. There shall be a Range Adjustment Program at each College/University where full-time faculty are employed. Full‑time faculty members who meet or exceed the merit‑based criteria established for range adjustments are eligible to be considered for and may apply for a range adjustment within rank. The merit‑based criteria will be established by the College/University and published for the understanding of affected employees. The procedures for consideration will be negotiated between the College/University and the Local UNION. The procedures for consideration utilized in the College/University, if universally applicable, or in a division, department or similar unit in which the faculty member is employed, shall be fairly and equitably applied to all applicants and nominees.
A complete salary chart that shows our ranges and steps can be found the in the Agreement between the State of New jersey the Council of New Jersey State College Locals, AFT, AFL-CIO and here on our website.
