NTU Update - May 20, 2016

Colleagues,

 1)   Contract Update – We finally have negotiations dates!   Our negotiation team will be meeting with NPS’s team on June 10, 15, and 16 to present our proposals and to see what proposals NPS has for us.  This is YOUR LAST CHANCE to do the NTU contract survey.  Our negotiations team will be meeting one last time to finalize our proposals on May 24 and to present them to the Executive Board.

2) NTU Hall of Fame Dinner - On Wednesday, May 18, 2016, the NTU held our 18th Annual Hall of Fame Dinner. It was our most successful Hall of Fame Dinner yet!   We had close to 300 attendees and raised $50,000 for scholarships for our members, their children, and the students of Newark!

For the first time, we also had the NTU Member Recognition Awards, where 14 members were recognized for their contributions to Newark's students, school staff, and community. And we inducted Thomasina Lemon into the NTU Hall of Fame!  

Check out our pictures from this terrific event, and we hope to see you there next year!

3) Lead in water – The NTU still has concerns about the lead in our water.  Attached is a notice from the Zazzali Law Firm who is looking to get info from staff, parents, and students impacted by this ongoing situation.  Please contact them immediately: Colin M. Lynch, Esq, of the Zazzali Firm via telephone (973)623-1822, or e-mail at clynch@zazzali-law.com.

4)  Superintendent’s Meeting -We had a productive meeting with Superintendent Cerf this week where we voiced concerns and discussed issues.  The district did seem to agree with us on how to resolve many of these issues, and we are cautiously optimistic.   As soon as any resolutions are put in writing, we will provide details.

5) AIR Contract survey – We get a lot of questions about the district’s Evaluation survey.  We actually got some useful information from last year’s survey, but it is important to remember THIS SURVEY IS VOLUNTARY!  If your administrator is pressuring you to fill out the survey, let us know.  But if you take it, please take it seriously and answer candidly.  The NTU and district both get the answers anonymously, and it helps with contract negotiation.

In Solidarity,