Since my last note, I have talked with more people who were at the table last Tuesday. Negotiations started at 6:00 and continued past midnight. There was some progress and it appeared that one or all of the units might settle that night. Dom was prepared to continue until we finished. What stopped the negotiations was Joe Rossi’s acting out by coming back with a ridiculous and insulting proposal. The team became angry and walked out.

I mentioned in a couple of notes last summer that I thought Joe planned to drag things out and then settle during a night-long session just before Christmas. It looked like that might have happened, but he screwed up. He was surprised when we just left. The people at the table are just fed up with his unprofessional behavior. He did not once come into the room during the seven hours. He was negotiating from his office. Some of the other New Jersey community colleges have settled after one or two sessions. There will be no negotiations until next semester. No specific date has been chosen. Will Parsons, Unity Negotiations Team Coordinator