Other services Financial assistance • assistance for legal aid to individuals whose job status is threatened (actions taken against tenured and nontenured individuals, academic freedom, increment withholding, suspensions, assault and battery cases, etc.) • assistance for legal aid to local associations which need help because of their advocacy and representation role (factfinding, arbitration, injunctions, restraining orders, strikes, etc.) • interest-free loans to individuals participating in strike activity or other organizational strategies • assistance to individuals for salaries lost while jailed because of a school employee strike • interest-free loans to local associations in need of help because of a strike or other job action. • assistance to local associations in representation elections • assistance to local associations in unit disputes Legal services • legal opinions written by the NJEA attorney upon written request of a member or a local association • advice on such legal matters as tenured and nontenured teacher rights, withholding of increments, tax problems, wage freeze, organizational management, etc. • provide legal defense for association leaders and members who participate in strikes 46 – AR Handbook Leadership training • assist with the training of association representatives and other association leaders in grievance adjudication, negotiation skills, organizational management, leadership skills, etc. Miscellaneous • help members organize the unorganized • provide information for individuals and associations in such areas as insurance, travel, certification, and pensions • help local associations resolve student disruption problems • assist in membership promotion • help local associations improve their communication with their members through newsletters, fliers, etc.; provide staff assistance to local associations in representation elections Protecting members’ rights One of NJEA’s prime objectives is to protect its members’ employment and civil rights. NJEA believes school employees should be free from arbitrary and capricious decisions by employers. When such decisions occur, school employees should have the resources to defend themselves in the proper administrative or legal channels. NJEA, therefore, provides the following services in protecting its members’ rights. Contract Enforcement – Grievance Processing NJEA assists its locals with upto date approaches to protecting negotiated contracts through a grievance procedure which ends in binding arbitration. The Association provides trained staff to help locals prepare grievances and assists as needed, including the preparation and presentation of grievances before an arbitrator. Legal Protection NJEA members are assured of free legal protection in cases involving suspension, discrimination, assaults on members, academic freedom, and the protection of tenure. In cooperation with NEA, NJEA pays all approved legal costs in such employment related cases. Personal Liability No school employee in New Jersey needs to worry about personal liability claims as a result of job performance. An NJEA-sponsored law, holds harmless all school employees and requires school boards to carry sufficient insurance to maintain this protection. Tenure/Due Process NJEA is firmly committed to the concept of due process for school employees and, therefore, monitors and challenges all attempts to weaken the tenure law. NJEA provides publications and workshops to inform members on how to protect their employment rights under the tenure law. Minority Rights NJEA provides local associations with assistance in developing minority involvement programs and assists members in their efforts to fight racial or sex discrimination in their employment. NJEA maintains a Minority Leadership and Recruitment Committee, encourages ethnic-minority members to become active in all levels of association work, and identifies and recommends ways to attract ethnic minorities to the association and school employment.
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