HCCCPA member Sean Egan, Vice President Sirhan Abdulla, Secretary Karen Hosick, President Michael Ferlise,
member Lauren Drew, NJEA Secretary-Treasurer Tina Dare, NJEA Vice President Petal Robertson and Hudson
County EA President Marquisha Reynolds.
At the 2025 NJEA Jim George Collective Bargaining Summit, held on Oct. 24-25, the Hudson County Community College Professional Association (HCCCPA) was named the winner of the Jim George Collective Bargaining Award.
The HCCCPA members not only won impressive salary and benefits concessions, they also engaged and mobilized their membership, secured more release time for leaders, accelerated the tenure clock application process, built distance-learning and technology provisions into their contract, and used negotiations to include nursing faculty in the union. In all, they introduced 45 proposals, most of which were ultimately accepted.
HCCCPA President Michael Ferlise, Vice President Sirhan Abdullah, Secretary Karen Hosick, and HCCCPA members Heather Connor, Lauren Drew and Sean Egan accepted the award on behalf of the association.
The awards ceremony was a highlight of the conference, which brought together nearly 350 members from across the state to network, share ideas and learn new skills to help them advocate for themselves and their members.
Jim George Collective Bargaining Award finalists
The NJEA Jim George Collective Bargaining Award is presented annually to an association that has accomplished one or more of the following:
- Bargained one or more new contractual provisions not already found in another affiliate’s contract.
- Conducted an extraordinary community organizing effort that resulted in a contract settlement.
- Used the bargaining experience to propel new members into association involvement and leadership positions.
- Achieved a particularly good settlement, in comparison to the state average, in salary increases, health benefits, professional development and/or member protection.
This year, after reviewing the 24 nominations, five finalists were selected. They were:
- Hamilton Township Education Association (Mercer)
- Hudson County Community College Professional Association
- Linden Education Association
- North Brunswick Education Association
- Washington Township Schools Support Services Personnel Association (Gloucester)
Who was Jim George?
Jim George was a driving force in NJEA’s quest to secure collective bargaining rights for public school employees. His long relationship with NJEA began when he was a teacher and union leader in Cinnaminson. An activist at heart, he served the Cinnaminson Teachers’ Association as its treasurer and then local president.
At the forefront in the fight for member rights, George is best known for his stirring remarks at the 1967 Asbury Park Rally for Teacher Rights. It was then that George spoke the words that would become the inspiration behind NJEA’s Collective Bargaining Summit: “A new order is at hand. A new generation has been conceived—and we are not afraid.”
George joined the NJEA UniServ staff in 1967 and served members in Burlington County until 1986 when he became a UniServ coordinator serving the southern portion of the state. For 28 years prior to his untimely death in 1995, George inspired NJEA members, leaders and staff. It was George who first suggested that NJEA hold a collective bargaining summit to invigorate the association’s commitment to bargaining. His legacy lives on through the summit and award that bear his name.
This year, the attendees were treated to speeches from Jim George’s sons, Bryan and Marc George. They spoke about their father’s legacy and the importance of union activism and the fight for public education. They were joined by their mother, Marianne, who was also an educator.