On Saturday, the following officers were elected for the term July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2020.
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Donna Chiera, President
Sue Tardi, Executive VP Higher Education
Rob Barbier, Executive VP PreK-12
Jennifer Higgins, Treasurer
Lucye Millerand, Secretary
PREK-12 VICE PRESIDENTS
Michael Backo
Christopher Canik
Leslie Correa
Carol Graff
Michael Iovino
Jerry Moore
Patricia Paradiso
Robin Pinckney-St.…
Carly Sitrin, NJ Spotlight
Part-time lecturers are asking for pay equity, affordable healthcare, and job security. Rutgers says it can’t afford to fund those requests
Part-time professors and contingent faculty at Rutgers University make up 70 percent of the teaching staff but some part-timers are paid significantly less than the tuition of a single student. This group is arguing it is unfairly treated by the university system and has ramped up its efforts to garner public support for its plight.…
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By Susan Loyer, Home News
NEW BRUNSWICK – More than 400 Rutgers University faculty, staff and students rallied outside the Board of Governors (BOG) meeting Tuesday, while dozens more inside petitioned the governing body directly in hopes of securing fair union contracts, a freeze on tuition and a $15-per-hour minimum wage on campus.
Student groups and members of 23 unions representing more than 20,000 Rutgers workers, whose contracts expire June 30, organized the protest, Anthropology professor David Hughes, vice president of the Rutgers AAUP-AFT faculty union, said in a statement.…
Patrick Wall, Chalkbeat
The head of the Newark Teachers Union is calling on the district to abolish school-improvement efforts that ask teachers at certain schools to work longer hours in return for extra pay.
About 30 district schools have extended days, which teachers must agree to in writing each year. According to an email that the union president sent to the district’s interim superintendent on Tuesday, some principals pressured teachers to sign those agreements this week before they have had a chance to look for positions at other schools.…
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By David Hutter, NJBIZ
Rutgers University students and employees waged a demonstration outside a board of governors meeting Tuesday asking for employees to be paid at least $15 per hour.
Hundreds of people took part in the demonstration with many holding signs bearing slogans asking for affordable health care. They made these demands on the New Brunswick campus outside Winants Hall and called on Rutgers President Robert Barchi to meet their demands.…
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Nicholas Pugliese, Gannett State House Bureau
Post armed first responders in schools. Upgrade security systems. Improve mental health services. Those were among the recommendations New Jersey lawmakers heard Thursday to improve school security in the wake of the deadly shooting in Parkland, Florida.
That advice was dispensed by school officials, police officers, doctors and others at the first of three joint legislative hearings on the topic this month.…
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The Supporting the Teaching Profession Through Revitalizing Investments in Valuable Educators (STRIVE) Act aims to boost funding for teacher preparation programs as well as greater incentives for those who enter the field, including tax credits and loan forgiveness.
Rowan Writing Arts Professor Amy J. Woodworth spoke on behalf of the bill, stating that “educators working conditions are student learning conditions.” Woodworth, Rowan AFT’s Second Vice President, joined the bill’s sponsors, U.S.…
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On 2/20/18, the Faculty Federation of Raritan Valley Community College passed a resolution supporting policies that promote public transit. The connection between this issue and labor is far stronger than might appear at first blush, according to RVCC economics professor Dan Aronson.
Aronson said, “Convenient public transit reduces automobile costs. Convenient transit also frees up parking lots for residential development – which would reduce housing costs for future buyers via the increase in supply.…
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A North Jersey Mayor, a Central Jersey Assemblyman and the new Commissioner of Labor are winners of AFTNJ awards and recognition at the Legislative Conference awards luncheon April 14 in Atlantic City.
Baraka (left) accepts endorsement from DelGrosso (to his right) in 2014.
Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka is the Joe DelGrosso Friend of Education for bringing together the education community to successfully advocate for local control.…
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Issue Call for Collaboration To Strengthen Public Education and Healthcare
NEWARK…As a young man, Ras J. Baraka decided to become a teacher and work with Newark’s youth to help them find their way to a better future, according to John Abeigon, Newark Teachers Union President. “As an activist, Ras naturally became involved with the union and really extended his love for students from the classroom to the surrounding communities, becoming involved in anti-violence work which continues to this day,” said Abeigon.…
Updated: March 16, 2018
New locations are being opened up for participants in the State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP) or School Employees Health Benefit Plan (SEHBP) who want better access to doctors while eliminating copays.
Direct Primary Care program features primary care doctors who see significantly fewer patients than the norm so they can typically offer same day or next day appointments, better access directly to the doctor, and appointments that are as long as they need to be.…
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Scharron Little of the Citizens Campaign will be leading a late afternoon workshop at the AFTNJ Legislative Conference on Friday, April 13 in Atlantic City.
The organization aims to provide tools and training for effecting political change in communities and reminds citizens that, “You don’t need to be an elected official to get things done.”
In Perth Amboy, the Citizen’s Campaign helped draft a model resolution based on community input on dealing with common student misbehavior.…
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Alexis Johnson, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Hundreds of Rutgers students and unionized employees rallied Friday in a continued push for higher wages for all campus workers.
[…]
Members of Rutgers’ faculty union, the American Association of University Professors-American Federation of Teachers, also attended the rally. They pledged to stand in solidarity with the students while also fighting for union workers’ rights.…
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EDISON…More than 450 adjunct faculty at Brookdale Community College have voted to unionize and join the largest higher education union in the state, according to Joan Carroll, who teaches math at the school and is a member of the new union’s leadership team. “We stuck together and now have our unified official voice for interacting with Brookdale’s administration along with a forum of communication among adjuncts,” Carroll said.…
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Dorothea Graham-King and Donna Chiera
Local: Hudson CCC Support Staff Federation
Since Dorothea Graham-King was elected to office she has shown major responsibility in making sure that our members read and understand their rights as written in the contract. She spends a lot of time on many union issues and does the research when it comes to protecting the rights of our members, as well as ensuring that the contract negotiations take place in a timely manner.…
Local: Thomas Education U, AFT
Charlene Martucci is a perfect example of the phrase “lead by example.” Charlene attends all public employee meetings and has an understanding how our locals are part of a much broader and larger labor organization. She encourages her members to volunteer their lunch hours at the AFL-CIO to assist them in whatever task they are working on.…
Local: United Adjunct Faculty of New Jersey
Marge Rosen has been working as an adjunct professor of Math at Mercer CC for 18 years. For 15 of these years she was a member of the Executive Board of her AFT chapter. She served as President/Chapter Chair for the last 12 years, where she constantly fought to advance the position of the adjunct faculty at the college.…
Local: Kean Federation of Teachers
Frank has served our union and students with compassion and distinction in his role as KFT member and as a member of the board of the Latino Action Network (LAN). In these capacities, he testified at the Legislature in support of legislation to curb abuses of students by New Jersey’s student loan program, legislation that was signed into law last year.…
Local: Montclair State University Federation of Teachers
From the moment Ken Brook came to Montclair State University in 1970 he immediately became an integral part of the local. He soon assumed the role of Chief Negotiator and signed his first contract on behalf of the Local in 1981.…
