2018 NJ STATE PBA
Collective Bargaining Seminar
Lacey Township finds ways to fill the gap
The easy punch line for why Lacey
Township Local 238 brought five mem-
bers to the Collective Bargaining Sem-
inar would be, “That’s what it takes to
replace the one guy we lost.”
That one guy is recently retired State
Delegate John Cernek, who was the PBA
Collective Bargaining Committee Chair
the past four years. But there’s more to it
than that.
“Every day, there’s a new law,” explains
Alan Abrecht, who moved up from Local
president to take over for Cernek and at-
tended the seminar for the fifth time this
year. “Things are always changing. A lot
of stuff is repetitive, but there’s stuff you
forget so even if you take one thing out
of it, that’s the value of coming again and
again.”
Abrecht also notes that bringing a
team of five is part of the perspective that
many Locals have of trying to get more
members involved and trained. Having
additional eyes and ears can make sure
they don’t miss anything applicable to
The members of the PBA Collective Bargaining Committee.
the Local’s current needs and challenges.
But there’s more to it than that.
“You come with questions, and then
you hear something and you say, ‘I was
looking for that. I had a question about
that,’” Abrecht adds. “It can be even old
things that come up, and you say, ‘Hey
guys, remember this?’” d
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