Deal reached to end Jersey City teacher strike

A deal was reached Sunday night on a new contract for Jersey City's teachers, paving the way for them to return to classrooms Monday morning after striking on Friday.

The tentative contract agreement would end an eight-month dispute between the 29,000-student district and its 3,100 teachers. It must be approved by the nine-member school board and members of the teachers union.


"I am very proud of the board trustees who took time away from work and family over the last nine weeks to reach this historic milestone," Board of Education President Sudhan Thomas said in a statement.

The deal came after a 13-hour negotiation session Sunday.

"I think we reached a fair and equitable agreement with the district," Ron Greco, president of the Jersey City Education Association, told The Jersey Journal. The union represents 4,000 teachers and other school workers.

All district programs will run as usual tomorrow after being canceled Friday, school district spokeswoman Maryann Dickar said in a statement.

Greco said the union should vote to ratify the agreement before April's school board meeting. There are other labor contracts that must be renewed, but those should come quickly now that a deal on the JCEA contract has been struck, according to Greco.

Teachers and more than 1,000 other school workers walked off the job Friday to protest high health care costs. Schools remained open for a half-day with substitute teachers. It was the first teachers' strike since 1998.

Teachers say Chapter 78, the 2011 New Jersey law that revamped how school workers pay for their health benefits, has resulted in them taking home less money despite salary increases.

This dispute has been closely watched by the statewide teachers union. A win in Jersey City on what teachers call "Chapter 78 relief" could help teachers in other towns win lower health care costs.
The details of the deal remain unknown, but Thomas said it includes an agreement on salaries and health care costs.

A judge on Friday afternoon ordered teachers to return to their classrooms on Monday, citing a New Jersey law that bans public union workers from going on strike.

Source: NJ.com