About 100 Middlesex College full-time faculty, staff and students on May 3 participated in a Local 1940 AFT-led informational picket on the Edison campus in and around Chambers Hall.
The event served to put a spotlight on Local 1940 AFT’s two-year quest for a new contract.
Sign-toting participants walked outside and through Chambers Hall, then gathered in the lobby and on the second floor — where Middlesex College President Mark McCormick’s office is — chanting “Settle now!” and “Come out now!”
AFTNJ President Donna M. Chiera spoke inside Chambers Hall, reflecting on when the school was known as Middlesex Community College and how students from her hometown of Perth Amboy would make their way from the city’s public schools to the Edison campus — something that continues to this day.
“This is their bridge between continuing their education either at a four-year college or getting their associate’s degree and getting a job,” Chiera said.
With regard to Local 1940 AFT’s situation, she added, “Every cent that goes to lawyers or administration is taken out of the education of students, and that’s not what any of us are here for. … I think we should demand this administration to stop playing the political games. … If they invest in the students, if they value the education, they would be at the table as soon as possible negotiating with you.”
