TEACHERS UNION DECLARES SCHOOL BOARD HAS "ANTI-UNION ANIMUS"

The SOM Education Association spoke out at Monday night's school board meeting with anger over previous comments about them and the impasse in contract talks.

PATCH reports:

Teachers at Monday's South Orange - Maplewood Board of Education (BOE) expressed anger and frustration at statements a board member made last month regarding the status of teacher contract negotiations.

"The BOE spoke about me and my colleagues with disdain and reproach," Tuscan fifth grade teacher Ana Reyes said. "What is behind such anti-union animus?" she asked.

The current teachers' contract is set to expire on June 30. At last month's BOE meeting, Sandra Karriem, chairwoman of the BOE negotiating task force, said the South Orange Maplewood Education Association (SOMEA) teachers' union was "unwilling" to negotiate further and had filed a declaration of impasse with the state.

The two groups are currently in mediation.

See the whole story HERE.

See our recent interview with teachers union leaders HERE.