(The Center Square) – A New Jersey special education teacher alleges her union retaliated against her after she raised concerns about workload and prep time in her contract.
Angela Arancio, a teacher at Middlesex Public School District and an 11-year member of the Middlesex Education Association, said union leadership failed to address issues she raised about inadequate class preparation time and teacher workload in a collective bargaining agreement.
According to Arancio, the union took no action after she voiced concerns about the agreement between the union and the district.
Arancio later filed an Unfair Labor Practice Charge and began discussing her concerns with colleagues and friends, including support via text message circulated among members of a union committee known as the Crisis Action Team.
Arancio alleges that in June 2025, the union retaliated by dissolving the Crisis Action Team, where she had been serving.
Union leadership said the group’s platform was being used inappropriately to solicit support for criticism of the contract.
Arancio disputes that claim and argues that dissolving the Crisis Action Team was punishment for her filing the unfair labor charge and gaining support from other teachers.
Arancio is represented by the Fairness Center, a nonprofit legal organization that provides representation to employees in disputes with unions.
In an exclusive interview with The Center Square, Managing Attorney Anthony Holtzman said the case raises concerns about union members’ rights.
“Hopefully, unions become more aware of the fact that their members do have a statutory right to file unfair labor practice charges against them,” Holtzman told The Center Square. “It is not appropriate to retaliate against or punish somebody who exercises that right.”
The Middlesex Education Association, in a March 16 response to the filing, argued the charge does not meet the legal standard to proceed and should be dismissed.
“The MEA did not base its decision to disband the CAT on anything that Arancio filed, nor on Arancio’s colleagues’ desire to support her. Rather, as her own Charge has already established, it was Arancio’s inappropriate use of the CAT’s platform, purporting to solicit support for her meritless and time-barred Charge, that prompted said action,” the response stated.
Arancio’s filing asks the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission to order the union to cease any retaliatory actions and to post a notice acknowledging a violation of state labor law under the Employer-Employee Relations Act.
One way the teacher union receives membership dues in the district is through payroll deductions authorized by employees and forwarded to the union.
The commission will review the charge and determine whether to issue a formal complaint.
The Center Square reached out to the MEA for a comment, but did not receive a response.
