UMDNJ Update - May 2

Merger The Governor wanted his plan to merge UMDNJ with Rutgers University and Rutgers Camden with Rowan University accomplished by July 1, 2012. Most politicians, University representatives and the public think this date is impossible. The Governor wanted the mergers to be accomplished by an executive order, which will not happen. He tried to abolish the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) by an executive order and this was overturned by the NJ Appeals Court. The Court stated that only the Legislature could eliminate an agency.

Since the final report recommending the mergers was issued last January and the COAH decision preventing an executive order, the Unions at Rutgers, Rowan and UMDNJ have been meeting with politicians and management to try and slow this process down and obtain protections for our members. We have drafted protective legislation and are asking NJ politicians to protect the workers while maintaining services to the public and students. (We do not have a sponsor for our bill yet.) It is widely thought that legislation (separate from our bill to protect your rights) will be drafted to merge or partner the three Universities, but exactly who is drafting what is unclear.

Rutgers Camden and much of the public have come out against a merger in South Jersey. The Governor has insisted that he wants his entire proposal implemented, but it seems there may be some compromise regarding South Jersey. Several politicians originally in favor of a merger/takeover are backtracking slightly about a full fledged merger. There seems to be room for a partnership or working cooperatively. The current idea floating is Rutgers would have to budget for each of its campuses separately (Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway and Camden). If this happened, Rutgers Camden would have more money allocated and this would help in a partnership with Rowan. It has been asserted this will increase the number of students and stimulate the South Jersey economy by an influx of grants and companies wanting to do business in South Jersey. A cooperative agreement between Rutgers Camden and Rowan would mean that Rowan would not achieve a Health Sciences status even though their Medical School is slated to open this summer.

The thoughts on the projected grant money and influx of business has not been proven, which brings us to the financial aspect of a merger. The Senate and Assembly Higher Education Committees have held hearings regarding mergers and the Senate and Assembly Budget Committees are now meeting. How much will merger/partnerships cost and who is paying for them? How do you transfer debt with mergers? These questions remain unanswered, but the July 1st date is still a possibility.

Another thought on this process is part of the recommendations may be accomplished through legislation while other parts of the proposal could be accomplished without legislation. The Coalition of Unions at the three Universities are working on defining guidelines to give to politicians to ensure that any parts of the recommendations are not broken up and achieved in a piecemeal fashion, which could result in layoffs, contracts being broken etc. All of the Unions will be communicating to lawmakers that this would be harmful to the workers and the costs will be hidden.

Meeting with Senior Management at UMDNJ The Coalition of UMDNJ Unions met with Dr. Rodgers and Senior Management last week. The first item on the agenda was the merger. Dr. Rodgers stated that UMDNJ is moving forward to become the NJHSU but they require UMDNJ’s bond debt to be divided fairly and additional money from the State for the NJHSU to be successful.

Dr. Rodgers also stated that UMDNJ will have to be equal to the other Universities and not be an “agency.” When UMDNJ was created, it was as an “agency” and the Board of Trustees is appointed by the Governor. The new NJHSU needs to be able to have autonomy.

We then heard from the Steering Committees about the merger. Without legislation or other legal actions, the Committees are at a standstill. The UMDNJ Unions asked UMDNJ to set up a meeting for the Unions to meet with Rutgers. They agreed to request this meeting.

We discussed the private/public partnership of UH that is recommended. Dr. Rodgers made it clear employees will be UMDNJ/NJHSU employees and not private employees. She said the Hospital is on better footing and working hard to be competitive. She stated they are not looking for an entity to take over UH, but one to work cooperatively. All talks with St. Barnabas have stopped since the merger report was issued in January.

Dr. Rodgers then presented the Coalition with a pamphlet that will soon be on the website. It is a plan for the future of NJHSU. UMDNJ is not going to wither and die and plans to make UMDNJ or the new NJHSU stronger and competitive were presented. Again, all of this depends on the proper funding from the State of NJ and bond debt allocations. We will see if this is resolved by July 1, 2012.

Meeting with UH The Coalition of UMDNJ Unions met with James Gonzalez, Acting President & CEO of UH on Monday. He explained that the Hospital is still operating with a slight deficit which they are hoping to balance by the end of June. He further explained they are looking into providing more primary care and by doing this in conjunction with the Medical School it will likely result in more referrals to UMDNJ specialty doctors. It was also explained that the Hospital is looking into patients termed “frequent flyers” of the ER and how to follow-up with these patients in a more effective manner.

The Unions asked about working cooperatively with a management partner and Mr. Gonzalez stated he was not involved in any of the direct talks, that was Dr. Rodgers responsibility. We discussed the need for flexible staffing in certain areas, H Blue and money needed for capital investment. The Unions did not agree to any changes, this was the Hospital explaining their needs.

Additionally, the Hospital ratings scores were discussed, as well as UH’s attempt to recognize some of its employees. When Mr. Gonzalez was pressed for details, he explained he has called a few people to his office after receiving phone calls, letters or emails about their exceptional service. He added that employees were also receiving meal vouchers as a thank you. He continued that the goal is to: Be a Hero - try and resolve issues; See It Clean It - pick up trash or put away equipment to keep everything safe; and Walk Them - walk a lost visitor/patient to the area they need to find. He stated UH is working on morale and trying to engage workers in problem solving.

Coalition of Rutgers/Rowan/UMDNJ Unions The Rutgers/Rowan/UMDNJ Unions meet and/or have conference calls at least once a week. We are currently working on legislative breakfasts in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway and Camden. Look for additional information and dates!

We are also working on a postcard campaign and/or a way for members at all Universities to contact their legislators, the Committees on Higher Education and the Budget Committees. We will provide more information shortly.

UMDNJ The UMDNJ Unions are working on a legislative breakfast in Newark on The HPAE is contacting the legislators about this breakfast. CWA and other UMDNJ Unions are also participating and we are inviting our members to attend and speak directly with their local legislators about their concerns. We need to know how many people will be attending, so please contact us if you plan to attend by emailing info@cwa1031.org.

We also have a meeting set up with Senator Rice and community organizations to follow-up on protecting UH and UMDNJ. This meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 8th at Paradise Baptist Church, 348 15th Avenue, Newark, NJ. If you would like to attend, please email us at info@cwa1031.org.

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