Hopatcong teachers accuse school board of unfair labor practices

HOPATCONG -- The Hopatcong Education Association has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the Hopatcong Board of Education for allegedly violating terms of the teacher contract negotiations, according to the union's representative, John Ropars.

Ropars, who works for the Sussex County Education Association, said he filed the unfair practice charge with the state Public Employment Relations Commission, or PERC, on Thursday.

According to Ropars, the complaint has two components.

The first component alleges that the board has negotiated in bad faith by not abiding by the agreed upon ground rules -- which both parties established at the beginning of the negotiation process -- specifically, by inserting an element into the negotiations that was not previously discussed after the third meeting between parties.

The second part of the complaint alleges the board has not signed the memorandum of agreement that, according to Ropars, both sides agreed to.

Board President Michele Perrotti said Thursday that the board's attorney, Andy Brown, had been in contact with her earlier in the day.

"The negotiations committee is aware of it," Perrotti said. "It's something we believe we can work through with the union."

Perrotti also cautioned against any overreaction to the charge, saying, "It's not as bad as it sounds."

The Hopatcong Education Association is the union that represents about 185 teachers in the district in addition to about 105 paraprofessionals and custodians. The association and the board have been involved in contract negotiations for nearly two years. In July, the two parties met with an independent fact-finder who issued recommendations to resolve the dispute. After failing to come to an agreement based on the fact-finder's recommendations, the two sides entered into a rare step known as super-conciliation in September, which is another advisory arbitration process.

It was believed that the two sides had reached an agreement prior to Monday night's board meeting, but a last-minute issue raised by the board prevented the signing of a memorandum of agreement that would have ended the negotiations, according to Ropars.

Ropars said that issue, which has to do with language in the contract relating to district contributions for the employees' health insurance, is superseded by Chapter 78 -- the 2011 law that requires public employees to contribute to their insurance premiums -- and should not be part of the negotiations.

Until a new contract is agreed on, the borough's teachers are working under the conditions of their previous contract, which expired on June 30, 2014.

Source NJ Herald