As of July 31, 2012, we have had 7 negotiating sessions. We are pleased to inform you that we have made progress at each session. We are still meeting on a regular basis as well as meeting as a team in between each session.

As a side note, our unit member, John Landers, attended the national AFT Conference in Detroit this past week. We look forward to hearing about his experience at our next membership meeting in the fall. MORE

As you probably already know, our negotiating team is taking on a new approach to bargaining this time around - it’s referred to as "interest-based bargaining.”

Historically, we have engaged in conventional collective bargaining where we would focus on particular sections of the contract we believed needed to be improved or updated. Then we would present proposals and counterproposals and argue our positions until we reached a settlement that we could recommend to you for ratification.

Our new approach involves going through every article of the contract, line by line. Both parties engage in discussions rather than arguments as they express their views. As a result, some articles are signed off unchanged while others undergo minor or major changes. We are also attempting to correct typos and grammatical errors throughout the process.

So far, we have been meeting on a fairly regular schedule – every other week. The team also meets in between sessions to prepare for upcoming sessions. While we cannot disclose details due to the confidential nature of collective bargaining, we can say that we are moving at a respectable pace and hope to begin bargaining the economic portion of the contract fairly soon.

As always, we thank you for your support and patience and can assure you we are doing everything possible to bring you a fair and equitable contract as soon as possible.
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Back Left to Right: Jennie Denaro Saun, Joanne Kearns, Katie Olsen, Gina Garcia

Front Left ro Right: Sheri Ventura & Lora Lekos

Missing from Photo - Jill Wells
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Please click on the Title above to download the Health & Safety Information.
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Save the dates April 20-21 for the AFTNJ Convention at the Seaview in Galloway Township.
See http://aftnj.org/calendar/ ( for more Union and Education events.


Other Dates:

June 5th - NJ Primary Election (includes Presidential & US Senate)
July 27-30 - AFT Convention, Detroit, MI
November 6th - General Election Day

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AFT President Randi Weingarten took some time on January 27th to talk with members of AFT New Jersey and the Health Professionals and Allied Employees about the importance of getting actively involved in political education and advocacy.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is pushing an agenda filled with attacks on K-12 education through undermining tenure and promoting vouchers, as well as a hastily conceived plan to merge higher education institutions.

The economy has created an opportunity for the “scapegoaters and the demonizers,” said Weingarten. “Instead of taking the responsibility of governing in tough times seriously, they are pointing fingers” and attempting “to turn the very people who are trying to make a difference in the lives of others into villains.” It’s unfair, and our members see it, said Weingarten. “They want to know what we are going to do about this. How are we going to make it better?”

AFT affiliates in New Jersey are working on legislation to protect members. “We have to work together, not just with one another, but with state lawmakers to get the best possible legislation,” Weingarten urged. “We have to come together with a quality agenda to engage members.

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