Jacqui Greadington, EOEA President
June 2019
WE HAVE BEEN THROUGH THIS BEFORE:
It is indeed distressing to end this school year without a contract settlement. It seems to be a pattern that the Board is unwilling to break. We, however, have been here before. It is more important than ever that we stand together to protect our hard-won benefits and terms and conditions of employment. EOEA has always been a strong advocate for protecting our members’ rights. We plan to continue to do so. We have negotiated in good faith and are taking steps to cause the Board to do the same. Upon contract settlement, salary increase monies that are due will be paid retroactively. The team, led by our NJEA spokesperson believe that declaring impasse is the next step to take.
East Orange teachers are second to none. Their dedication is evident in the fact that they continue to educate students in spite of inadequate supplies/computers, and administrative support as needed, mountains of paperwork, and redundancy in submitting paperwork that is already available. Teachers are not afforded enough time to collaborate with each other to improve instruction. In some buildings, teachers are targeted and bullied for daring to offer suggestions for improvement. All of this as they come out of pocket to provide materials that should be made available by the district. East Orange teachers deserve a fair and equitable contract settlement. We are determined to achieve that goal with your help and support.
Please read the detailed Negotiations report by Chair, Dawn Nichol-Manning. She explains the process and future steps in her report in this newsletter.
NJEA PAC/NEA FUND CONTRIBUTION:
Political action is crucial to maintaining our public schools and member rights & benefits. The EOEA is launching a drive to have each member contribute at least $3.00 per month to PAC. This contribution will be deducted at the rate of $1.50 per paycheck.
This fund was established because it is illegal to use dues money for political action. Each person must sign a form which will be available through building reps. This fund helps us support and elect candidates that support public schools and public-school employees. It helped us elect Governor Murphy who has been in the forefront of protecting our rights after Christie’s attempt to diminish them. Please consider making this small donation.
VALERIE JONES IS RETIRING:
After 22 years of service as the Administrative Assistant to the EOEA, Valerie Jones (the pleasant voice on the phone) will retire on June 28th. We will miss her devoted and tireless service to the EOEA. Valerie, thanks for a job well done. May you be blessed in a well-deserved retirement.
WISHING ALL OF YOU A SAFE, HEALTHY, RESTFUL SUMMER. YOU DESERVE IT!!!!!!!!!
