International Centre for Trade Union Rights

Two years after the jailings: Jersey teachers defy backlash, win strikesAuthor(s): KAREN JOSEPHSource: International Union Rights, Vol. 10, No. 3, Focus on USA (2003), pp. 6-7Published by: International Centre for Trade Union RightsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41936141 .

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FOCUS □ NEW JERSEY TEACHERS

Two years after the

jailings: Jersey

teachers defy

backlash, win strikes

When 228 striking teachers were

arrested in

Middietown, New

Jersey in December 2001,

some thought there would be no

more teachers strikes in the state. But two recent strike

victories disprove that notion

KAREN JOSEPH taught in New Jersey for 15 years. She is

now NJEA's Associate Director for Public Relations

Photo (right): New Jersey Education Association

NEARLY town, ings of

New

two 228

years

Jersey striking

have

in December

passed teachers

since in 2001

Middle- the

(see

jail-

NEARLY ings of 228 striking teachers in Middle- town, New Jersey in December 2001 (see

Labor Notes January 2002). Virtually every mem- ber of the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), the state association with which the Middietown Township Education Association is affiliated, was touched by the sight of teachers in handcuffs on the steps of the Freehold Court- house.

After Middietown, many across the state sound- ed the death knell for strikes in the state. Some local association leaders and members announced they would not go on strike because they were not willing to go to jail.

Some associations acquiesced to board of edu- cation demands for lower salary increases and the diminution of health benefits without so much as a whimper. Many thought New Jersey's days as a national leader in collective bargaining were over.

Additionally, one of the nation's most restric- tive collective bargaining laws, New Jersey s Public Employment Relations Act, remained in place. Among other provisions, this law allows a board of education to impose its "last best offer" after mediation and fact-finding are exhausted and do not result in a mutually agreed upon con- tract.

Yet despite these obstacles, since Middietown, two New Jersey locals in two very different com- munities have struck and won, indicating that NJEA is as strong as ever.

The Princeton strike As one of New Jersey's wealthiest and most exclusive communities, Princeton's schools have a national reputation for excellence. But by 2002, teachers in Princeton were tired of high achieve- ment and low salaries. In September of that year the Princeton Regional Education Association (PREA) walked picket lines for two days.

The Princeton strike headquarters, while tech- nically not within the community's boundaries, was in a large shopping mall. Since the largest building was unoccupied, the union's action committee commandeered the parking area and held a rally for the membership.

Leaders spoke, members sang picket line songs they had created, and community supporters gathered. This gathering place proved to be an effective organising tool and was instrumental in maintaining the solidarity of the membership.

Action committee member Joanne Ryan

summed it up for her colleagues. "I never thought I'd see the day when PREA members would take this step. But we worked all summer long organising our members and letting them and the public know the issues."

"We made a decision that we were being treat- ed unfairly by the board," continued Ryan. "Our only course of action was the one we took. Civil disobedience is an honourable act and I believe PREA and its members did the honourable thing."

Imposing a contract The remainder of the fall saw ripples of labour unrest, but no strikes. Then in June 2003, after working 11 months under an expired contract, the North Warren Regional Education Association and the board of education entered fact-finding. The threat of contract imposition loomed. Members were angry and not interested in allow- ing the board to impose a contract, even at the end of the year.

In an unusual step, in the farthest reaches of northwest New Jersey, NWREA members went on strike the morning of 4 June.

The major issues in dispute for the union's teachers, secretaries, custodians, and teacher assistants were salaries and health benefits. But

INTERNATIONAL union rights Page 6 Volume 10 Issue 3 2003

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the overriding reason for the strike was the union's decision that it would not permit the board of education to unilaterally impose a con- tract.

The threat of imposition increased when the board refused to return to the bargaining table for three days.

Association leaders knew, however, that the Crisis Resolution Bill, which would strip the power to impose contracts from boards of educa- tion and was one of NJEA's top priorities, was scheduled for debate in both houses of the state legislature in the coming days.

As opposed to Princeton, North Warren is a rural community. One building houses the middle and high schools and it is nestled behind trees off the main road. This created challenges for pick- eters: 100 people had to be divided up into small groups to picket the building itself and to have picke ters visible to traffic on the main road.

The Crisis Headquarters was on the second floor of a strip mall and well set back from the road. Despite a small space in a remote location, the Crisis Headquarters, as is usually the case in strikes, became the centre of activity for mem- bers.

NWREA remained on strike for three days. An all-night bargaining session under the direction of a state-appointed neutral arbitrator brought a set- tlement Saturday morning. The strike was over.

Victory A feeling of euphoria coupled with relief swept through the membership.

Nicole Georgehalli, a first-year teacher, addressed her colleagues that morning: "I've never been treated with more respect and love by all of you than I have been over these three days. You've made me proud to be a teacher and a member of this union."

Shortly after the strike, the Crisis Resolution Bill passed, and it was signed into law in July. Today public school employees in New Jersey no longer live with the threat of a unilaterally imposed contract. A major legislative priority for NJEA has brought some balance back to the bar- gaining process.

But the actions of the Princeton and North Warren Regional Education Associations proved that when treated with disrespect, public school employees will risk fines and incarceration rather than meekly allow the unilateral imposition of a contract.

What happened in Middletown? The dispute flared on 28 November 2001 when month-long negotiations broke-down over pay, work loads and health care contributions. Unable to accept the Board of Education posi- tion, local teaching union MTEA, an affiliate of the 2.6 million strong New Jersey Education Association, called its members out on strike the following day. That afternoon a 'back-to-work order' was issued by a local judge, effectively criminalising the strike. On 3 December Judge Clarkson S Fisher Jr began sending to jail MTEA members who had refused to obey the order. By 7 December, 228 Middletown teachers were behind bars. At this point the MTEA called off the strike and secured their release when emergency talks with the Board of Education reached agree- ment that the dispute would be submitted to arbitration. Editor, IUR

ASLEF

A new century must bring greater

understanding for an increasing

development of positive policies in the

promotion of worldwide trade union

rights M D Rix, General Secretary

ASLEF, 9 Arkwright Road, London NW3 6AB 020 731 7 8600 fax 020 7794 6406

Page 7 Volume 10 Issue 3 2003 INTERNATIONAL union rights

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