We, the undersigned, call on President Holloway and the Board of Governors to change course in their treatment of Rutgers employees in the midst of this public health crisis. Threatening layoffs and loss of health benefits is the last thing the State University of New Jersey should be doing at this moment. As they say, union busting is disgusting!

We call on you to take a people-centered approach by recognizing that institutional wealth should be used at this very moment to protect the most vulnerable among us—those with the lowest wages, the least security, and the highest susceptibility to COVID-19.

We demand that you rescind your declaration of a fiscal emergency, fire the Jackson Lewis law firm, and engage, rather than avoid, our Coalition of Rutgers Unions around progressive, sustainable values and our cost-saving proposals.

It is only on this shared footing that our great university can move forward into a safer, fairer, and brighter future. We must stand together for our students, our patients, and our communities.