Teachers, staff without a contract since July
LINWOOD — Teachers and other staff members showed up in force Nov. 17 to express to the school board their displeasure with labor negotiations, which have been ongoing for nearly a year.
Scott Betson, chairman of the negotiations committee of the Mainland Regional Education Association, did not address the issues that separate the sides in the collective bargaining process.
“We are of the opinion that doing so would not be proper in a negotiations process,” he said.
But he did speak about how the situation reached its current state of impasse, accusing the Board of Education of delaying the process unnecessarily.
“It is the belief of the MREA negotiations team that when presented with these facts, many in the public will reach the same conclusion that we have: Simply put, the lack of care and regard that this board has shown in this negotiations process reflects poorly on us as a community and that we all deserve better,” Betson said.
President Jill Ojserkis said the Board of Education also would like to settle the contract dispute.
“It is my hope that we are able to enter into a mutually acceptable agreement soon, because it’s not fun for us as it is for you,” she said. “We very much would like to make you happy to the extent that we can and we’re going to continue to do that.”
He presented a timeline of the process, saying the MREA began preparations in spring 2024, about 18 months ago, based on the belief that “successful negotiations processes require time and preparation.”
Betson said the union and school board agreed to meet to began conversations Feb. 6, 2025, but that the meeting was postponed just two weeks before its scheduled date.
He said the sides were not able to agree on a new date to meet until April 16, 11 weeks after the initially agreed-upon date.
“While this meeting did in fact take place, the board made it clear at the outset of the meeting that no negotiating would take place, since one of its members was unable to attend,” Betson said.
He said proposals that had already been exchanged through Chief School Administrator Mark Marrone were reviewed but not negotiated in any way.
Betson said the sides finally met for real negotiations May 7, when “many of the substantive language issues were discussed and a salary proposal was put forward by the MREA.”
A follow-up meeting was held May 15.
“At this meeting, the BOE team began by thanking the MREA team for being so ‘reasonable and responsible’ in the proposals brought forth and both sides were optimistic about a deal being done soon,” Betson said. “Many of the language issues discussed in the previous meeting were agreed upon in principle by both sides.”
However, he said, the board “abruptly ended” the meeting when salary negotiations resumed.
“A member of the board’s team made it clear that they were no longer willing to discuss the matter any more for the night, and that they would likely not be willing to meet with us again until summertime,” Betson said.
However, he said, the sides met again June 11, when the board team “explained that none of the previously agreed-upon language items were on the table anymore, and that the last salary offer that the BOE had made at the previous meeting had actually gone down significantly.”
“When asked why this would be the case, the response from the board’s team was that the previous offer was ‘no longer feasible,’” Betson said. “The MREA team explained that this an obvious example of not negotiating in good faith and the damage this would cause to this and future negotiations processes.”
He said the board team replied that it was not prepared to discuss salary at the previous meetings and after reviewing the information, was no longer able to make the offers it had previously made.
“This means, that by the board’s own admission, they were ‘unprepared’ to make an offer that they had made a full three months after the originally scheduled first meeting,” Betson said. “The response of the MREA to this unprecedented tactic (and from our perspective, an unfair labor practice), was to resume negotiating from the last place of common ground from the May 15 meeting.”
He said the board team agreed to take the offer to whole board during its next meeting on June 16. However, he said, the board did not have enough members to reach a quorum, so no negotiations items were discussed.
“While we were obviously disappointed that board members were not able to attend their own meetings, the BOE did inform us that they would resume negotiations with us in early July,” Betson said.
He said the board agreed to meet July 31, seven weeks after the last negotiations.
“At this meeting, the BOE team made it clear to the MREA that if we continued to negotiate based on the agreed-upon framework from the May 15 meeting, that we should no longer continue discussions at all, as they flatly refused to engage in any such conversations,” Betson said.
He said that showed the board was not negotiating in good faith and was “likely an unfair labor practice, if agreed-upon issues could simply be pulled off the table at later stages. This, in our opinion, creates an unfair and illegal disadvantage in the negotiations process.”
Betson said an impasse was declared Aug. 1, requiring a third-party mediator to facilitate the process.
He said the board team declined to meet on six offered dates.
“As we stand here today, the BOE has yet to meet with the MREA since impasse was declared almost four months ago,” Betson said. “No matter what the philosophical differences may be between the BOE and the MREA, this process was handled in a way that can best be described as dismissive. This board has conducted itself in a way that simply does not reflect the nature of past negotiations between the two sides and we are hoping that the people gathered here today understand our frustrations.”
Betson added that the union members continue to provide students with important events such as freshman orientation, a community Trunk-or-Treat and a food drive for families in the area who were negatively affected by the government shutdown.
“Your continuous commitment to our students even during those sessions, please recognize we appreciate it,” Ojserkis said. “Let’s try very hard to reach a mutually acceptable agreement, sooner rather than later. I know that we are committed to doing that.”
John-Fred Crane, president of the MREA, which includes custodial and maintenance staff, guidance counselors, teachers, educational support professionals, aides and secretarial staff, said the union has continued to serve the district without a settled contract since July 1, 2025.
“This follows two consecutive years of RIFs and significant staff attrition, which have already placed immense strain on morale. Our employees have absorbed additional responsibilities, supported one another amid uncertainty and continued to show up for our students every single day,” Crane said. “The absence of a fair and transparent settlement has caused real financial and emotional hardship for our staff. It has also created a climate in which employees feel undervalued and unsure about their future in this district. Despite this, our members remain committed to the students and families of Mainland Regional.”
“On behalf of the entire MREA membership, I respectfully urge the board to work with us promptly and collaboratively to reach a fair contract settlement. Our community, our students and our staff deserve stability, respect and an agreement that reflects the value of the work being done in this building every single day.”
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff