By Daniel Staples
The NJEA Patriots Alliance is an affinity group for veterans and active-duty service members working in New Jersey public schools. Founded in 2017, the alliance is a statewide network that supports, educates and advocates for NJEA members with military backgrounds. Much like the Marine Corps I proudly served in, the alliance was built on camaraderie, shared purpose and decisive action.
Since its formation, the Patriots Alliance has hosted an annual breakfast at the NJEA Convention, facilitated workshops on veterans’ pensions and military service buyback, and promoted school-based initiatives such as Walls of Honor to elevate the contributions of veterans in our public schools.
One issue has always been at the heart of our advocacy: military service credit. New Jersey statute grants certificated staff a salary guide step for each year of honorable military service. After reading about the law in the NJEA Review, I contacted my NJEA UniServ field representative, received a legal consultation and successfully asserted my right to four additional steps on the salary guide.
That experience reinforced the importance of understanding the law and of a union that educates and empowers its members.
But the statute’s limitations are obvious. It only applies to certificated staff. Educational support professionals (ESPs) with the same military service received no such credit. As a UniServ consultant, I worked to negotiate military service credit into local contracts where possible, but the inequity persisted statewide.
The Patriots Alliance Planning Board agreed that this injustice requires legislative action. Military service should not be valued differently based on job title.
Planning board member and former Marine Sandi Wilcox, a proud paraprofessional and past NJEA ESP of the Year, led the charge by meeting with legislators and sharing her personal story.
After a meeting with Assemblywoman Andrea Katz, the assemblywoman agreed to introduce legislation. NJEA Government Relations launched an alert for members to take action and members mobilized to support the bill through outreach, testimony and advocacy.
During the December 2025 lame duck session—the same day NJEA delivered 112,000 Tier 1 For Everyone petitions to the Statehouse—NJEA Patriots Alliance Staff Contact Mike Kaminski delivered testimony on Wilcox’s behalf before the Assembly Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. I also testified, sharing both my experience and the collective voice of veterans working in our schools. The committee voted unanimously to release the bill, and shortly thereafter the full Assembly passed it 76–0.
A week later, the Senate Higher Education Committee heard the bill, advancing it with strong support.
Our efforts on behalf of ESPs and military veterans illustrate the power of member-driven advocacy and the strength of NJEA’s organizing model. The Patriots Alliance identified a need, built a strategy, collaborated with Government Relations, mobilized members and is working to achieve meaningful, statewide change.
This is what happens when educators—and veterans—stand together, take action and fight for justice. It is the essence of unionism, and it is the work NJEA members do every day.
Dan Staples is a math teacher in Manchester Township, a local president and a former Marine. He is also a Region 7 UniServ consultant.