Higher education members bring a unique perspective
By Paul Belmonte
In January 2022, I retired from Union College of New Jersey (formerly known as Union County College). I was an academic advisor working with various student cohorts to get them to graduation. In my more than 25 years at UCNJ, I was very active in the Union County College Employees Association. I served as the Association President for my last 21 years. I was the team leader on eight negotiating teams and was involved in numerous arbitrations. It was being in leadership that also led me to serve on the NJEA Higher Education Committee, which I still do today.
Becoming an active member in my NJEA local enabled me to use my social work knowledge in the areas of advocacy and community engagement. Representing members in the contractual parts of the grievance and arbitration experience were intense detail-oriented processes. Members who went through that process appreciated the importance of the union as a community dedicated to fighting for each other. Common unit events were ways to build up the bond between members and articulate membership goals.
In approaching retirement, I didn’t want to leave my love for being an advocate for members. I didn’t arrange for a life membership in NJREA before retiring, though I could have. In joining NJREA, it was clear that the advocacy horizons would expand to my fellow NJEA retirees.
The NJREA members I have met are from the K-12 world. They are smart, intelligent and share a passion for lobbying legislators. Issues like restoring COLA and protecting our health benefits have broadened my understanding of what it means to push for change.
At the same time, I wanted to stay engaged with current members and their issues and concerns. In addition to serving on the Higher Education Committee as an NJREA member, I also help lobby Trenton lawmakers about issues relevant to all NJEA members and specifically higher education issues. For example, I joined members from around the state to lobby for Chapter 78 relief, part of a successful effort to remedy that Christie-era attack on educators. I helped lobby online for pension justice and increased capital funding for community colleges, all in the company of fellow NJREA members.
I see my NJREA membership as a chance to fight for my fellow retirees and former colleagues still employed in the New Jersey community college sector. It would be great to have more retirees from higher education join NJREA. I benefit directly from my membership, as I use the eyeglasses discount, one of many ways membership pays back.
Now if I could only meet current higher education NJREA members! Or new retirees with a higher education background! Together we could add a lot to a dynamic group of people with their shoulder to the wheel to help make things better around the state, especially at our state’s 14 community colleges.
Paul Belmonte earned his bachelor’s degree in social work in 1980 from Providence College and his master’s degree in social work from Catholic University in 1982. As a social worker, Belmonte carried out clinical and casework duties, served in business, and then undertook a role in student services at what was then Union County College. Becoming an academic advisor allowed him to use his casework skills to sustain long-term, goal-oriented relationships with different student cohorts.
Retired higher education staff can bring their unique perspectives to advocacy for the profession by strengthening their voice as NJREA members.
Read more about the benefits of the NJREA membership at njea.org/join-njrea.