By Suzanne Russell
PERTH AMBOY – Members of the Perth Amboy Federation, the union representing teachers and other district employees, are upset about the lack of a new contract.
A large group of union members demonstrated about the slow pace of contract negotiations Thursday outside Perth Amboy High School before the start of the Board of Education meeting.
Pat Paradiso, Perth Amboy Federation president, said that after the most recent collective bargaining agreement ended in July 2015, the union has been working with an expired contract. The Perth Amboy Federation, part of the American Federation of Teachers Local 857 AFL-CIO, represents bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodians, paraprofessionals, school-related personnel, secretaries, security guards and teachers.
“Despite repeated requests by the union to meet, the board has only met with the union negotiating team one time since the beginning of the school year. Major issues remain before the contract can be resolved,” Paradiso said in a news release.
According to Paradiso, the union believes the delay in negotiations is a deliberate attempt to continue forcing district employees to pay up to 35 percent of the cost of their health insurance premiums.
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