PBA Collective Bargaining Seminar appears to be even better this year
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
On Jan. 5, with approximately a month until another unprec-
edented NJ State PBA Collective Bargaining Seminar was pre-
paring to commence, George O’Brien received yet another con-
firmation about how indispensable one of the union’s hallmark
events has become. That morning, Jackson Township Local 168
sent in registration for a group of members to attend. Eleven
Local 168 members to be exact.
The vitality, the importance of obtaining every morsel of in-
formation the collective bargaining seminar offers for the bet-
terment of contract negotiations, members’ rights and Local
operations, gained even greater significance by strategically
changing the schedule for the 2018 event Feb. 6-8 at Harrah’s
in Atlantic City. Instead of its usual Wednesday-Friday run, the
31st edition will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 6 following the PBA state
meeting and conclude 10 two-hour sessions two days later.
“President Colligan came up with the idea of starting the
seminar after the meeting to keep everybody fresher,” noted
O’Brien, the PBA’s Labor Consultant. “On that last day, we would
lose a lot of people, and they were missing a lot of the best infor-
mation. The seminar is really good to the last drop.”
Following the state meeting, lunch will be provided, and at
1 p.m. State PBA Attorney Paul Kleinbaum of Zazzali, Fagella,
Nowak, Kleinbaum & Friedman will open the seminar as he al-
ways does with his presentation that updates “Pending Legal Is-
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■ JANUARY 2018
sues Affecting Collective Bargaining in the Public Sector.” Klein-
baum is speaking at his 31st Collective Bargaining Seminar, a
presence that not only will contribute to the PBA passing its
record attendance of 475 in 2017, but emphasizes why at least
30 percent of the enrollment includes members who have been
once, twice – or 10 times – in the past.
“It’s a refresher,” O’Brien asserted. “Even if you have heard
it, you can’t ever know this stuff too well. If you have taken the
seminar, you know that there are always new things that you
have to be aware of. Once you know the value, you realize the
value. You also recognize the fact you’re getting new informa-
tion in every seminar.”
Following Kleinbaum, Merrick Limsky and Marcia Mitolo
from the law firm of Limsky & Mitolo will address “Protecting
the rights of employees who serve and protect us,” a presenta-
tion that also includes the latest on the use of body cameras.
That will conclude the first day. The next two days will feature:
Wednesday, Feb. 7
• Knowing your rights as a law enforcement officer by Stu-
art Alterman of Alterman and Associates.
• Financial Analysis by Raphael “Ray” J. Caprio and Marc
H. Pfeiffer of Research and Consulting Services.
• Preparation for the negotiations process by Frank Crivelli
of Crivelli & Barbati, LLC.
• Retirement and Disability Pensions by Christopher A.
Gray of Sciarra and Catrambone, LLC and Pete Andreyev,