A full-time faculty union at a New Jersey community college says it is on strike over its participation in a one-time grant program.

Dee McAree, president of the County College of Morris Faculty Association, said her union members voted Oct. 23-25 ​​to do no work on the Titan’s Track grant. New Jersey Advanced Media reported earlier on strike.

Through this grant, according to a document provided by McAree, County College of Morris seeks to increase retention and graduation rates for low-income students. The union’s roughly 100 members want to do the work, McAree said. In fact, she said they wanted to design this new counseling model.

However, she said the college rejected the union’s request to negotiate the job, chose tutors for the program and said those employees would receive $5,000 a year for their participation.

“They took us out,” McAree said. “They want teachers to work there without (union) representation. »

“The advising is transitioning from an integrated, faculty-led academic advising (mentoring) model to an administrative center,” she said.

At the same time as the union is withholding its work on the grant, McAree said she believes the college intends to bring in adjuncts and staff to do the grant work. While she said she doesn’t object to staff help, she said faculty have the skills to provide academic mentoring to help students achieve their career goals.

The union also filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the state Public Employment Relations Commission because of the situation, McAree said.

The college, which had a contentious relationship with the union in the past, he has not given an interview on Friday. A spokesperson emailed Inside higher education a lengthy statement that repeatedly praised the college’s president, Anthony J. Iacono, but did not mention the strike. The release states in part that “the grant provides new opportunities to improve student success and we look forward to continuing this important work for the benefit of our students.”