The union of full-time faculty at a public university in New Jersey says they are striking against participating in a single grant program.

Dee McAree, president of the County College of Morris Faculty Association, said union members voted Oct. 23-25 ​​not to do any work related to the Titan’s Track grant. NJ Advanced Media previously reported on strike.

With this grant, County College of Morris aims to increase retention and graduation rates for low-income students, according to a document provided by McAree. McAree said about 100 union members want to do the job. He even said that they wanted to design this new recommendation model.

But he said the university rejected the union’s request to bargain over the job, selecting specific faculty members for the program and that those employees would be paid $5,000 a year for participation.

“They shut us out,” McAree said. “They want faculty to work on this issue without (union) representation.”

“Advising is being shifted from an integrated faculty-led academic advising (mentoring) model to an administrative center,” he said.

At the same time the union is holding back labor due to the grant, McAree said he believes the university plans to bring in ancillary staff and staff for the grant work. While he said he is not opposed to staff assistance, he said faculty have the ability to provide academic mentoring to help students achieve their career goals.

The union also filed unfair labor practice charges with the state’s Public Employment Relations Commission regarding the situation, McAree said.

college having a university Contentious relationship with the union In the past, we did not give interviews on Fridays. A spokesperson emailed Inside Higher Education a lengthy statement that repeatedly praised university president Anthony J. Iacono but made no mention of the strike. The statement said in part that “the grant provides new opportunities to increase student achievement, and we look forward to continuing this important work that will benefit our students.”