Maplewood Teachers: We Need Open Windows, 'Social Justice'

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Contract talks between the South Orange-Maplewood teachers' union and the district have broken down again, the union said — because of details ranging from raises to being allowed to open the windows.

"Perhaps most shocking," said a statement released Saturday by teachers' union President Rocio Lopez, "is the effort by the district to condition pay increases on sacrificing the health and safety protections of the Sidebar Agreement which permits members to keep windows open given the admittedly antiquated ... ventilation systems in our rooms."

Last year, the Maplewood schools did not reopen for on-site learning until late into the 2020-2021 school year because inspections showed problems with the ventilation systems.

Lopez said the agreement was meant to "protect the health of our students, families, and ourselves. It is nonsensical for the District to ask SOMEA to render null and void an agreement they negotiated and entered into just one year ago — and is further supported by court order."

The letter said that the district left the bargaining table "despite having the services of a mediator and after only one short meeting with that mediator and notwithstanding the commitment of SOMEA and the mediator to spend the hours necessary to secure a fair contract."

The SOMEA had said on its website last month that it had met with the mediator early in 2022.

The Saturday letter warned that numerous staff members "have understandably left for significantly higher compensation and employee-friendly environments in neighboring districts."

"Equally odious is the District’s stale sound bite that they have been generous in offering a 12 percent increase in salary despite the fact that they are aware its proposed percentages do not remedy in any material way the district’s failure to keep pace with its neighboring districts," the statement said, and included detailed calculations of Maplewood's proposal and salaries in West Orange.

"SOMSD prides itself as a district which models social justice," the letter concludes. "That fair treatment needs to start with good-faith efforts by the board to secure a contract which fairly compensates its teachers NOW. We remain ready and available to meet with the district.

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