Every week, Social Media Editor Ashton Leber hits the archives and finds old Signals that relate to current College topics and top stories.
Professors and faculty at the College went on strike in 1974 because the state refused their proposals. Production Manager Brielle Bryan spoke to faculty members who protested working under expired contracts on April 12. Although the faculty explained their love and passion for teaching, they are worried about bills and other expenses. With lack of compensation and health insurance on the rise, faculty are frustrated with the administration.
Professional staffers at the eight state colleges across New Jersey rolled through the second day of their strike today with no hope of negotiations in sight.
The Council of New Jersey State College Locals (CNJSCL), an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, (AFT), began striking Monday because, according to Union officials, “The state has refused to bargain in good faith; they have said no to all of our proposals.”
At Trenton State College, early reports showed that only 34 percent of the faculty honored the picket lines set up at all campus gates. The remainder of the classes were held as normal. These first-day figures were tabulated by computer center staffers who are not members of the bargaining unit.
According to Dr. Paul DuBois, Director of the Library, “One third of the professional staff is present. All the clerical staff, secretaries, shelvers, etc. are in.”
Joe Durkin, national representative for the AFT, noted, “This (TSC) appears to be our weakest point state-wide.”
Security had extra people on the first day of the strike and according to Nate Lomax, Director of Security, “Things went relatively as expected.”
Security guards were posted at both the main entrance on Pennington Road and the Green Lane entrance to make sure traffic flowed smoothly.
Ewing Township’s Police Department was contacted several times throughout the day by non-striking faculty members, students and Ewing Township residents who complained about the flow of traffic.
Ewing Police dispatched officers to both entrances, where they told the strikers that if they receive another complaint about the flow of traffic, they would have to start arresting.
No further incidents were reported.
