South Orange–Maplewood teachers union and school district unable to come to agreement, fact finder to be consulted

SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The South Orange–Maplewood School District and South Orange–Maplewood Education Association’s negotiations on a new contract for the teachers union broke down and, after attending several mediation sessions since the beginning of January, the two groups will now be moving forward with a fact finder, who will propose a solution after evaluating all the data. In a Feb. 28 press release, SOMEA leadership said it is “disheartened” that the district has left the bargaining table. At the Board of Education meeting that night, President Thair Joshua said the board does not perceive good-faith negotiations from SOMEA.

In 2021, SOMEA proposed a three-year contract with salary increases of 6.14 percent in the first year, 3.3 percent in the second year and 3.3 percent in the third year. By December, the negotiations came to an impasse. Joshua said at the meeting that, in January, the board offered a 12-percent salary raise over a three-year span. He said the board’s proposal included concessions that would bring the SOMEA contract in line with state norms.

“On Feb. 8, in response to the board’s Jan. 6 offer, SOMEA agreed to less than 25 percent of the board’s proposals with respect to the rest of the contract and maintained their salary demands of 6.14 percent, 3.3 percent, and 3.3 percent over a three-span, which equates to 12.74 percent,” Joshua said. “For comparison’s sake, the average raise for Essex County public school districts is 3.17 percent (per year) as of this month.”

According to Joshua, the district offered a counterproposal that offered an average of 4-percent salary raises over three years.

“The board’s 12-percent salary increase offer to SOMEA with a 4.5-percent increase in the first-year would be among the largest salary increases for any New Jersey teachers union in the last 10 years,” he said. “In response to the board’s offer, SOMEA reiterated its salary demands and subsequently withdrew one of their offers with respect to the board’s proposals.”

SOMEA said the district’s proposed salary raises do not fix the district’s failure to keep up with neighboring districts in paying teachers, according to SOMEA’s Feb. 28 press release.

“Throughout its efforts, SOMEA has consistently asked the district merely to catch up by paying its teachers 6.14 percent in year one and then only county average in the subsequent years of the contract,” SOMEA said. “As the district cautions its teachers, equal is not the same as equitable, and it is equity which SOMEA seeks via pay increases, not near-equal percentages applied to materially lower salaries. Indeed, the association took great care to research its position on salary increases and has published the contracts of neighboring districts to evidence the gross disparity in the significantly lower salaries SOMSD chooses to pay its teachers despite being in identical or wealthier district factor groups as districts like Livingston, Montclair and West Orange. Unlike the district, SOMEA has been forthright and consistent in its position since the inception of the negotiations.”

The union used the West Orange School District as a comparison point, saying that the lowest-paid members of the West Orange Education Association is $60,011 per year. The lowest the SOMSD offered SOMEA is $52,313. In the union’s proposal, the lowest-paid member would be paid $53,134.

“Now the district underhandedly seeks through its terms to further widen the disparity by excluding monies paid to high school teachers assigned to teach a sixth class from their retirement income and demanding additional duties from middle school teachers and reducing the monies paid to elementary teachers who are assigned to monitor student lunches during their own lunch periods,” SOMEA said.

The next step in the process will be to work with the fact finder, who will hear evidence on the remaining issues and recommend a resolution based on that evidence.

“As the burden of proof rests with both parties, it will be up to SOMEA to convince a fact finder that the board’s offer, the highest in the state, is unreasonable and that their salary demands, with no concessions, should be met,” Joshua said. “As fact-finding will not conclude for potentially 12 months or longer, the board remains willing to engage in good-faith negotiation with SOMEA should they wish to return to the bargaining table and do the same.”

  FEATURED, SOMA Board of Education, SOMEA, South Orange–Maplewood School District