As the school year comes to an end, it’s a good time to look back over the past year and consider the many milestones we’ve passed. As school employees, you have guided students throughout the school year, helping each of them reach their full potential in safe, healthy school environments. For me, this has been my first year as president, and I’ve been honored to work on behalf of NJEA members, students and families.
Looming over these wonderful memories has been the challenge of rising health insurance costs and our efforts to achieve Tier 1 for Everyone. Ever since 2007, but especially since 2011, New Jersey’s pension system has been designed to create haves and have nots. It’s been set up so that some people in our profession have a promise of retirement security and others have to wonder whether they can stay in public education at all.
The situation is untenable. NJEA has been working on solutions. In December, more than 100 NJEA members gathered in Trenton to deliver boxes of signed petitions to then-Gov. Phil Murphy, Senate President Nicholas Scutari and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin calling on them to support, pass and sign bills that would collapse the current tiers in TPAF and PERS and return all members of those plans to Tier 1. More than 112,000 NJEA members personally signed those petitions, a monumental organizing achievement. But those bills died during the Lame Duck session.
As disappointing as that was, we did win several major victories for NJEA members, including an extension of the pause on student growth objectives (SGOs), restoration of the pension for members with a break in service, a fifth consecutive full pension payment, stronger charter school accountability and the return of long-term disability for some members in tiers 4 and 5.
The work to achieve pension justice for all members goes on, even as we fight to ensure that any solution to the health insurance crisis isn’t on the backs of public school employees.
New Jersey cannot function without our contributions. We are engrained in the fabric of our communities. Yet we are facing an unsustainable economic crisis.
And as we have seen, the situation around escalating health care costs has put untenable pressure on everything else in local budgets, resulting in over 100 districts moving to privatize, RIF employees, and close or sell buildings to make up for the shortfalls caused by these costs. Let me be plain: this is not our fault but is our problem. We have solutions, and we are willing, ready and able to work collaboratively on short- and long-term solutions.
On May 1, I was proud to march alongside other union members in Newark to celebrate workers’ rights and the importance of labor unions. Marches were held across the state, and thousands of union members participated. It was a powerful reminder of our strength when we stand together.
Confronted with the challenges of health insurance and pension reform, we know what we need to do. We know that our power is in our numbers. When we stand together, work together and fight together, we win together!
Thank you for everything that you do for New Jersey’s public school students. Our communities are stronger because of the work that you do each day. Congratulations on another successful school year and best wishes for a happy and safe summer.
