slavery in New Jersey

[Major Variola (ret)]

Complete with soccer-mom revolutionaries and "obligatory contracts"...

I suppose this is what you get for working for the state, eh?


http://latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-000097073dec06.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dnation

MIDDLETOWN, N.J. -- On Saturday, the Middletown High School
South Tigers won the state football championship. On Monday, their
head coach went to jail.

Coach Steve Antonucci was among 135 striking schoolteachers and
secretaries behind bars by day's end Wednesday, and the number is
expected to swell as nearly 900 continue to defy a judge's order to get
off the picket line and into the classroom.

                                                            The five-day

                                                            strike and
jailings
                                                            have torn
this
                                                            otherwise
                                                            average
                                                            American
                                                            suburban
                                                            community in

                                                            two.
Favorite
                                                            kindergarten

                                                            teachers,
drama
                                                            coaches and
                                                            others who
have
                                                            always seen
                                                            themselves
as
                                                            normal,
                                                            law-abiding
folks
                    are being led to jail sobbing or defiantly
denouncing the local school
                    board and residents. "This town ought to be ashamed
of itself," said
                    Lauren Spatz, a second-grade teacher. "The parents
don't care about education. . . . It's not going
                    to be the same ever again. The teachers' morale is
going to be shot."

                    But parents and administrators say the teachers'
timing couldn't be worse, with layoffs at nearby
                    computer firms and families still shaken by the
death of more than 30 local residents in the World
                    Trade Center attacks.

                    And there is no end in sight.

                    "It's become a war," said plain-spoken,
chain-smoking school Supt. Jack DeTalvo, shortly before
                    getting on the phone to give instructions to the
board's attorney about how to garner the best
                    coverage on local evening news shows.

                    One thing all sides agree on: If and when the
contentious job action ends, the bitterness could leach
                    into the classroom.

                    The strike has left 10,500 students out of school in
this sprawling suburb of 70,000 an hour and a
                    half south of New York City. With record-breaking
warm weather, the days off are a treat for the
                    children but a hardship for working parents, who
range from truck drivers to Wall Street
                    investment brokers.

                    In addition, state law dictates that all missed
school days are made up at the end of the year.

                    Teachers counter that a few days of inconvenience is
minor compared to being hauled off in
                    handcuffs.

                    "I'm a soccer mom, I drive a van and I have a dog,"
science teacher Katie Connelly said with a
                    rueful laugh as she sat waiting to go to jail. "But
this is our revolution. . . . The only way you get
                    respect is if you stand up for yourself."

                    Dispute Over Who Pays Health Benefits

                    At the heart of the dispute is a demand by the
school board that the union members pay a
                    percentage of rising health benefits instead of a
flat annual fee of $250. The strikers angrily respond
                    that they will end up having to pay up to $600 extra
for benefits, which would effectively cancel
                    out wage increases. The teachers have been offered
pay raises of 3.8%, 4% and 4.2% over three
                    years.

                    The teachers went on strike for a short time three
years ago. They said the board at that time had
                    ignored the recommendations of a fact-finder and
instead imposed a contract on them that, by law,
                    they said they had to accept. This time, the union
is calling for binding arbitration, which the school
                    board has refused, insisting that the teachers
return to class first.
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