Chanting at times and carrying signs, the teachers, members of the Hamilton Township Education Association, circled the building for over an hour.
HAMILTON -- Hundreds of Hamilton teachers and staffers protested outside the district's Park Avenue headquarters Wednesday evening while their union representatives negotiated inside with school board officials.
Chanting at times and carrying signs, the teachers, members of the Hamilton Township Education Association, circled the building for over an hour.
The teachers have been working without a contract since June, when their latest three-year contract expired, officials said.
Teachers Pat Hearny, from Steinert High School, and Denise Stirone, from Lalor Elementary, stressed the union members were protesting on their own time and after school hours so as not to impact their students.
And Hearny stressed it was a peaceful protest that they hope it will lead to progress. "Protesting peacefully gives us the moral high ground, but not much of a legal one."
The teachers say it's not clear to them what the actual negotiation differences are because their negotiating team is not allowed to not divulge a lot of information publicly. They have only been hearing bits and pieces, they say.
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And state New Jersey Education Association union official assisting the HTEA said both sides of the bargaining table have a media gag order.
Strirone said she's learned the the district wants more from the teachers during after hours, while not offering anything in return.
The president of the school board and the district's interim superintendent did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
The district has about 900 teachers, but the 1,350-member union also includes custodians, cafeteria staff, librarians, guidance counselors, nurses, bus drivers and speech therapists.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.