Dear Senators Booker (NJ), Menedez (NJ), and Toomey (PA)

Trump's Tax Plan = 20% Pay Cut for Grad Employees

Rutgers AAUP-AFT, which includes the nearly 1,700 graduate employees throughout the state of New Jersey, is writing to express our unequivocal opposition to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

The tax reform bill passed the house on November 16, pushing the repeal of the tax-free nature of tuition remissions. If this bill carries through the senate, graduate employees at Rutgers University will be taxed for tuition remission as early as January 2018, adding more than $3,000 to their taxes each year.This effectively cuts nearly 20% from the salaries of Rutgers graduate workers.

As the body representing graduate workers across all Rutgers campuses, we want to use the momentum built around this issue by graduate employee locals to expand the conversation. This bill not only implicates graduate workers, but all working people at universities who enjoy tuition remission benefits. We stand with the staff and faculty alike who receive tuition remission benefits through Rutgers and who will also be burdened with additional costs as a result of this new tax plan, eliminating the potential to pursue a degree here for themselves and/or for their children.

The work done here at Rutgers by our staff, faculty, and graduate workers is world renowned, and Rutgers employees deserve every benefit they have. However, this tax plan will make it extremely difficult for Rutgers University to remain the flagship university of our state if the very employees that make up this community are forced into untenable financial positions by our representatives.

That is why we are calling on you all today. This bill should have never passed and we ask that you vote to kill the bill on the senate floor next week.

Sincerely,
The TA/GA Steering Committee
of the Rutgers AAUP-AFT

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