Middlesex College Faculty, Staff Picket As They Await New Contract

EDISON, NJ — Full-time faculty at Middlesex College Edison are calling for negotiating a new contract with the county. Members of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT )Union Local 1940 which represents full-time faculty gathered for a picket in front of Chambers Hall on Tuesday.

The full-time faculty's contract expired on July 1, 2020 and since then, all attempts to negotiate a new contract with the Middlesex College administration have been ignored, union members said.

“We’ve gone two years without a contract, during the pandemic. But we’ve been met with indifference,” said Patricia Payne, Local 1940 AFT President.

Over 141 full-time faculty members are waiting for a new contact, Payne said. “At this point, the only thing we are asking for is fair contract settlement, nothing more.”

Over 100 people, including faculty staff and students, were present for the picket on Tuesday afternoon.

“The president received a $10,000 raise during the pandemic and the county administrators are not offering anything to the teachers who are on the ground, doing all the work,” said Sheema Majiduddin, counselor and member of Local 1940 AFT. “The college president has not talked to us directly.”

Union members said they have attended various public meetings with county administrators to negotiate the contract, but have always returned empty-handed.

“There are contractual problems and issues with administrative leadership. Instead of spending money on labor attorneys, they should use it to settle our contracts,” Payne said.

The county administration did not respond to Patch’s request for comment.

Union members say they appreciate Gov. Phil Murphy’s support for workers and unions, but their support for teachers has “left a lot to be desired.”

“We live in a county with Democrats in leadership positions. They should support teachers, educators and the mission of the college,” said counselor Gina Bedoya. “We need the assurance that the politicians we elected into office support our efforts.”

The Local 1940 AFT said they will continue to attend meetings and make their voices heard over the summer. But come fall, if things don’t change, “there will be more pickets.”

“This is not the direction we wanted to go,” said Majiduddin. “But we are just out of a pandemic and all we are asking for is meaningful dialogue."

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