we've been out on strike for a whole week and we're gonna hold it up as long as we need striking faculty at Rutgers Newark took a breather on day five of the unprecedented walkout that's brought New Jersey State University to a virtual standstill unions representing some 9 000 Educators medical staff and other workers want Fair wages and job security but there's even more at stake for instructors at smaller campuses like Camden and Newark a black woman is likely to be paid less than a white man on the scene campus and definitely paid less than a colleague at New Brunswick union rep Kyle Reese Mandel says faculty at Rutgers Flagship campus in New Brunswick routinely get paid more although teachers at Camden and Newark can apply to the university for parity but it's not automatic Strikers want to fix that so one of our demands is a 10 across the board increase for faculty in Camden and a 5 across the board increase in Newark and that's because this system has not worked so it's a simpler way to make things more equitable the Administration has shown no interest in negotiating that issue as far as I've heard we've made it okay not to take care about other people right we've made it okay and it's not okay Rosner Works in Rutgers Global Urban studies program in Newark she calls equal pay a fundamental right human dignity is an important principle for me it's an important value I think that that above everything else you know and I think that part of human dignity is you know working and having a decent pay and decent living students pay the same tuition no matter which campus they attend and social activists who support the Striking workers also demand equity for faculty my ruckus degree doesn't say I have a lesser degree because I went to Rutgers Newark it says Rutgers University so everybody at Rutgers University should be treated the same it's absolutely insane rather it's Newark Camden Brunswick is still educating someone so why isn't it equal pay it feels like Camden has to fight for the basics Travis Dubose teaches writing at Rutgers Camden where he says pay discrepancy creates a palpable impact on faculty morale we look up up the turnpike and we say wait a minute you know we are we are fulfilling the mission of the University our research faculty here world class why is there discussion so there's a dampening of morale that comes with that kind of underfunding he believes the administration sees Camden as a drain on resources because unlike New Brunswick it doesn't generate a lot of tuition dollars from more profitable International and out-of-state students almost 93 percent of Camden students are from New Jersey Rutgers has stated it will stay at the bargaining table until it has a fair contract for all its employees union negotiators say quote the going is grueling that they're still stuck on several core issues like Equity contract talks will continue over the weekend in New York I'm Brenda Flanagan NJ Spotlight news [Music]