Teachers in Paterson have started a third school year without having a new contract and union leaders have told them to stop working extra hours for which they aren’t paid. Paterson Education Association President Peter Tirri told NJ Today Managing Editor Mike Schneider that he hopes to avoid a walkout, but believes the district is taking advantage of teachers.
“We’ve been negotiating for 28 months to get a new contract,” Tirri said. “Our contract ran out June of 2010 and since that time we’ve gotten virtually nowhere.” He said there are many issues in the negotiations including salary and benefits. Tirri explained coaches haven’t had a raise in five years and the union can’t negotiate health benefit contributions lower because of state rules that were passed.
Because the state controls the Paterson School District, Tirri explained that union representatives work with local negotiators who then report to Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf. Tirri believes Cerf reports to Gov. Chris Christie. “Anything that we resolve has to be approved by the commissioner and by the governor as well,” he said.
Tirri believes Christie is waiting for an opportunity to fire teachers. “I think he’s waiting for somebody in Newark, Jersey City or Paterson especially to walk out so he can deliver the ultimatum and then say, ‘You’re fired’ because the seniority issues that he’s raising that haven’t gotten through yet are all aimed at getting rid of senior teachers to save money for the districts,” Tirri said. “And so I don’t see much of a difference between the two.”
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Paterson teachers have been told to refrain from participating in activities that they aren’t paid for. This doesn’t include sports because coaches are paid to perform those duties, Tirri explained. Other extracurricular activities may be affected, but Tirri said they haven’t begun yet because the school year only recently started.
The teachers have mixed feelings about the directive, according to Tirri. “They understand what we’re talking about. They are as frustrated as we in the leadership,” he said. “They also don’t want to hurt the kids. We don’t want to do that either.”
Tirri has held his position for many years and said the situation in Paterson is worse than in the past. “When the district was taken over by the state, we expected things to get better for the kids and by association for us,” he said. “And they haven’t.”
He believes excessive pressure from the state is preventing the district from moving forward. He also disputed the reasoning behind going under state control, even though he said there were major problems. “The district wasn’t nearly as much of a mess as the state made it out to be,” Tirri said. “One of the reasons that they took over was that the board minutes after being approved were not put in a binder.”
Tirri said the state has been against the Abbott v. Burke decision which was meant to ensure poor urban districts received adequate funding. “That was the basis upon which we felt we were going to be able to get better,” he said.
When asked if he believes the end result will be a Paterson teacher walkout, Tirri said he hopes not. A fact finder will begin work in the district Oct. 10 to help both sides reach an agreement.
“We’re hoping the fact finder can bring together both of the parties and if not have a hearing, make recommendations which will allow us to get a settlement,” he said.