Officer and Delegate Elections

Nomination Process

Any full dues paying member wishing to have their name on the ballot for any of the officer positions, as well as council delegate, is required to complete a Nominating Petition with ten (10) signatures of full-dues-paying members, which is then delivered to Paul Martinez, chair of AFT Local 1904's Elections Committee via interoffice mail or directly in his mailbox in the Technical Services area in the Library, which is behind the Reference Desk to the left.

Any nominations received before the April 9th General Union Meeting will be included on a sample ballot to be shown at that meeting. Additionally, at that April 9th meeting, nominations for office will be accepted from the floor. All nominations for officers and delegates are due by April 14th.

Note that only full members may nominate someone to run for an office. Members can nominate themselves with the required Nomination Petition.

The election will be conducted the week of April 28th through May 2nd. Only full dues paying members are eligible to vote in the election. To confirm your membership status, contact the Local's office at ext. 4453 or via email at union@mail.montclair.edu.

Questions? Contact Paul Martinez via email at paul.martinez@montclair.edu.

New Law Prohibits Discrimination Based on Pregnancy

As well as childbirth, or related medical conditions

On January 21, 2014, the Governor signed S-2995/A-4486, a bill which prohibits discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. While there have long been legal arguments made as to prohibition of pregnancy discrimination under the sex and disability components of the NJ Law Against Discrimination (NJ LAD), pregnancy is now its own protected class under the NJ LAD and employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations.

Financial Review

Audit Committee's Findings

The Audit Committee has completed its work for the 2012-2013 fiscal year. AFT Local 1904 is pleased to announce that the Audit Committee has found the finances of the Local to be in good order. Many thanks to, Jessica Brandt, Viktor Turchyn, Bob Browning and Bill Vincenti for their hard work.

The Audit Committee's report on its findings can be found by clicking here.

Robert G. Porter Scholars Program

Grants and Scolarships Available

As part of the Robert G. Porter Scholars Program, the AFT offers $8,000 scholarships to four high-achieving high school seniors who are the dependents of AFT members. And 10 grants of $1,000 each are available to AFT members who seek to implement ideas for their union about the role union members can play in collectively reclaiming the promise.

Applications are now available online. The deadline for submitting the 2014 application to the AFT is March 31. This year's winners will be announced by June 30 and will be recognized at the AFT convention, July 11-14, in Los Angeles.

Robert G. Porter was a dedicated union activist from the time he joined his first AFT local in East St. Louis, Ill., until his death in 1991. For nearly four decades, the late AFT secretary-treasurer gave his all to championing the rights of working people, promoting civil rights, and ensuring that the union was a vehicle for helping members achieve justice. Since its inception in 1993, the Robert G. Porter Scholars Program has awarded more than $500,000 to AFT members and their dependents to further their education and to help grow our union's capacity to achieve our goals.

Members Help Out At The CFBNJ

Work That Matters

On Saturday, March 15, 2014, a team from AFT Local 1904

volunteered at the Community Food Bank of New Jersey (CFBNJ). The entire team found it to be a rewarding experience.

About the experience Rich Wolfson, AFT Local 1904 President, said "Not only did we do some important work, but it was fun."

Many thanks to Nat Bender of AFTNJ and his wife Amy, Mylka Biaschochea, Louise Davies, Amy Krenzer, Joann Pinto, Alex Sperling, Deb Solomine, and Rich Wolfson for giving their time and effort to help out at the CFBNJ.

Scholarships Available

For High School Seniors

The Essex-West Hudson Labor Council's scholarship award for high school seniors is now accepting applications. Eligible applicants must be accepted at an accredited college or post-high school education program.

Children of full dues paying members AFT Local 1904 who meet the above stated criteria are eligible to apply. The application deadline is April 17, 2014. For additional information, please click here.

Current Events

Links to Recent Articles of Interest

700 Newark Teachers may be laid off. Read more on Bob Braun's Ledger.
You think you know what teachers do. Right? Read this opinion piece that was published in The Washington Post.
NJ Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf to step down. Read more about it in The Star-Ledger.
Michelle Rhee's StudentsFirst organization is getting into the political game. To learn more, click here.
Proposed bill would protect emloyees who are unable to make it to work during a state of emergency. Read more about it in The Star-Ledger.

March 2014

Richard Wolfson, President
AFT Local 1904

President's Corner

I started writing this while in the gallery watching the NJ Assembly Budget Hearings last Wednesday in University Hall. Some of you may have seen it, as it was streamed across campus due to the combined efforts of a lot of our Professional Staff. Susan Cole welcomed the NJ Assembly committee members to campus for this important part of the Democratic process. She testified first, telling the Assembly that the State was simply not doing its share to support higher education and that the funding formulas for higher education simply make no sense. She's right. The committee was polite, but I doubt they were thinking of ways to increase our State allocation. In fact, the State income projections are so bad that I'm not sure we'll get the money that they're currently promising. I see no way out of this without some tax increase, but there's no chance for that until the our legislature has more individuals who actually want to help the people of New Jersey rather than simply get re-elected. There are clearly not enough of them now.

There was other testimony, from special interests as varied as health care institutions and e-Cig advocates. One of note was Dr. Daniel Jean, Executive Director of EOF and Academic Development, who spoke eloquently on how that money does real good, and brought two students who made impressive statements about how the EOF Program has made a real difference for them. Equally impressive was testimony from our students representing New Jersey United Students; I was proud of them.

I'm finishing this Corner after returning from volunteering with some other members of the Local at the Community Food Bank of New Jersey. Not only did we do some important work, but it was fun. I wish more of you could have joined us, and I want to give shout-outs to Amy Krenzer for organizing it and to Alex Sperling for chairing our Outreach Committee. I hope you can join us next time.

That's it for now. See you at the next General Union meeting this Wednesday. I was hoping to note that crocuses were beginning to pop up, but I suppose that will have to wait till next month.

In solidarity,

Rich

Upcoming Events

General Union Meetings:

Time: 2:30-4:00 p.m.

Where: SC 419

When:

Mar. 19, 2014

Apr. 9, 2014

May 7, 2014

Faculty Tenure Workshop:

Time: 12:00-2:00 p.m.

Where: TBD

When: Tues., May 6th (designated as a Fri.)

AFTNJ

AFT Local 1904 is affiliated with American Federation of Teachers New Jersey (AFTNJ), which is the state federation of AFT locals in New Jersey. AFTNJ represents 30,000 Pre-Kindergarten to grade 12 and higher education workers throughout the state.

Want to know more about AFTNJ? Sign up for their news feed by clicking here.