I WAS JAILED FOR DOING THE

RIGHT THING!

So you want to teach?

by

James K. Aumack B.A., M.A.+

If the above title frightens you…you shouldn’t teach because you’ll likely find yourself in a position at some point, to either stand up for you students and also for yourself or do what some political lackey orders you to do…without an increase in your salary but a serious decrease in your ‘self-worth’!! Teachers in Jersey City, New Jersey made that choice and some of us paid a very painful and expensive price.

I was a young grade school teacher, working at my first professional position as a teacher in the Inner-City of Jersey City, New Jersey. I graduated from college and started my first job there in 1967. I had earned a B.A. Degree and was fully Certified to teach, by the State of New Jersey. I was assigned to a sixth grade and was happy, enjoying my first years teaching inner-city children. The year was 1971 and teachers were in very short supply and most didn’t complete the school year teaching in the ‘Inner-City’. The entire area in and around the school on Astor Place, Jersey City, had a majority of new people that migrated from the south as the major population. Property was ‘run’ down and rents there were ‘cheaper’ so the black southern migrants moved where they could afford the rents. Many had jobs that paid enough for the rent but not a great deal more for food or medical attention when needed. The entire community was experiencing the serious potential for riots, caused by unemployment, poor community, low paying jobs an poor leadership. Almost all of the leadership came from the local churches and they were really overwhelmed with problems among their church members. Unemployment led to Public Welfare to pay the rent and put some food on the table.

This was my first teaching assignment in the city. The neighborhood was among the toughest in the entire community. Many, if not most of the students, were a wild bunch and had absolutely zero interest in learning. Those that did, were considered an oddity by their peers and often they were made fun of and worse, by their classmates.

The Black Panther Political Party owned a building across the street from the school and it was loaded with long black pipes lingering from upper story windows. Were they rifles? No one could tell for sure from street level! They looked real. There was a twenty-four hour police squad car parked twenty yards from this building with two heavily armed policemen, twenty-four hours per day seven days a week. This alone ‘rubbed’ many in the African American community, the wrong way! A non-minority person could own a rifle for hunting but if a minority man owned the same kind of rifle, it resulted in a police 24-hour watch on you apartment building. Likely as not the objects displayed out of the upper-story windows were simply black pipes made to look like a hunting rifle simply to aggravate the Mayor and the police …his right enforcement arm.

What the public didn’t know was that this group of black men and woman took it upon themselves to feed the hungry in their community and help with all sorts of problems found in daily living in any community, especially minority communities. Most of the folks that were really escorted out of the south, had no formal education or training in any skill. There were zero jobs found in Jersey City for farm help, ditch diggers or house maids. These people were told that there was work and good jobs waiting for them in the North. After World War Two and the Korean War, this was simply not the case! The soldiers that survived and came back and populated the better part of the city. This left the ‘run down’ areas for the ‘southern migration of people of color’.

The schools that were serving the less appealing city neighborhood areas became almost totally populated with children of color from families that were struggling to pay the rent and put some food on the table. In addition the new Spanish population from Porto Rico and Cuba, add an entirely new set of difficulties that needed to be overcome! All of the above and plus also teaching large numbers of children to read and write in a new language…English! Some of these children had never been to any formal school! These new difficulties caused many older educators at or ever near retirement age to simply throw up their hands and apply for their pension. This is what the cities were facing and had to contend with!

My background and education, prepared me to teach anywhere in the State of New Jersey and most other States as well. I was a graduate of the then, Jersey City State College, now New Jersey City University. My student teaching was part of a ‘special’ project, that help prepare new teachers to the demands that cities like Jersey City were now facing. My student teaching experience was purposefully arranged within the inner-city of Hoboken, New Jersey. Instead of a six week course I had a six month special course ’Inner-City’ teaching experience, to prepare me for what I wanted to do. Only a few of us applied for this course and even fewer completed the course.

All new young educators that were employed in Jersey City, were invited to join the Jersey City Education Association(JCEA) the local ‘Teacher’s Association’/Union. This Association was the agent that the citywide teaching staff picked, as the unit to negotiate contract details such as salary, class size etc.. During this time, the Viet Nam War was in full swing and male teachers were in very short supply. Many were drafted right out of the classroom. This put the Boards of Education at a distinct disadvantage as they couldn’t keep a male teacher in a school classroom in a high impact crime area. Either the pressure of the work or the local Draft Board ended their teaching career, at least for a short time.

Female teachers refused, in many situations, a position in a classroom in the ‘Inner-City’. There were enough positions outside the city for female educators to fill the empty slots in front of those classrooms. This was in the late 1960’s and the early ‘70’s. Salaries for teachers were at the low end of anybodies pay scale, considering the college requirements that were necessary and also State required, in order to teach in New Jersey.

The local Jersey City Board of Education, took the position that all male teachers were absolutely essential to the school system and the classes they were assigned to. The Assistant Superintendent wrote letters to Draft Boards seeking a deferment for their male educators in an effort to keep them in the classroom. As a male educator, I was told by experienced male teachers, that I would probably be safer in Viet Nam than in the classroom in the Inner-City. After my first year teaching, I had to agree. There were kid’s with old revolvers, zip guns (a home-made firearm) that used a large/heavy rubber band to quickly advance a sharp object to hit a gun shell and explode the cartridge, subsequently firing the bullet. Either one will kill you if it worked and the ‘Zip’ gun was always questionable regarding working.!

Knives were an everyday item as common as a pencil. Also, a new experience for me, was a ‘rat tailed’ hard plastic comb. This was a favorite among the younger kids as the above ‘tools’ would stand out in their clothing. With the handle of the comb sharpened to a very fine point, it became as dangerous a weapon as a ‘ice-pick’! This could also kill or maim you. This was generally kept in the hair of the individual owner…for quick access.

As expected, I was called in front of my local draft board eleven different times over the course of my early teaching career. At each request to appear, I maintained and presented to the Draft Board, a photo folder of my more interesting students. This ended up to be seriously extensive. I simply would greet the Draft Board folks and present a copy of the ‘Board of Education Letter’ written by the then Assistant Superintendent Frank McCarthy, seeking a deferment and the photo’s of my classes. I then answered questions and displayed recent scars acquired while breaking up classroom/school fights and/or defending myself.

These I would present to the most aggressive Draft Board Member. I would follow this presentation with the comment that if drafted, my job would be open to any female that could last more than a day or two, because there are no males applying to teach. I would then ask, “Does you daughter need a job? If she ‘s covered with a major medical plan she can have my class, if I’m drafted. I’ve been lucky…this year, so far, I’ve only been attacked twice, once I was threaten with a knife and once with a zip-gun. I was able to thankfully, control both situations. That’s why I’m still here, to defend my position with the school system. Many people couldn’t repel an attack by a deranged individual and those are the people that are injured, some very seriously. Also, I’m married and my wife and I are expecting our first child. My wife is a ‘Registered Nurse’ with her ‘BS/RN’ and works in a major hospital in the Intensive Care Unit. I could very possibly be a patient in her unit because of possible injury in the classroom. This position is essential, apparently I’m successful and I have survived and wish to continue, when many others simply walk away.”

In any case, my approach seemed to work, as I wasn’t drafted or perhaps it was divine intervention.

As time went on, our union contract with the City/Board of Education expired and we were again in contract talks with the City/Mayor/Board of Ed., and their negotiators. These talks started a year before the current contract ended. The Board was controlled by the Mayor’s office and the Mayor was not happy with our request for a substantial salary increase in all salaries across the board. This negotiation went on for months and there was ‘zero’ settlement in sight. The members of the Board of Education wanted to settle the contract but the Mayor’s representatives didn’t because he ordered them not to settle. We knew that there was more than enough money in the City Budget, for a substantial increase in salaries. The Mayor and his supporters must have thought that we were simply like sweet little old ladies, that would accept what he said, as if it came from the lips of God! Under current circumstances this contract was necessary to insure continued new talent in the classrooms. The current in-class teacher population was quickly growing old and as quickly retiring, as the quality of student changed with the great migration to the Northern inner-cities, from the south. A higher salary than the surrounding communities teacher’s salaries, would provide a step up in acquiring the necessary new young teaching talent. What was the problem? This should have been an easy negotiation. Everybody was in step with simply what had to be…except the Mayor and his followers. They had zero concern regarding the quality of education being offered by the public school system in their town.

We suspected that the then Mayor and/or his supportive members on the City Council, were siphoning off cash from City Accounts. Our own teachers with math degrees, reviewed the ‘City Budget’ and also the current property tax base as well as the Cities costs. We were sure to do the research necessary to substantiate our request/demand for a salary increase across the board.The money for an increase in salaries was there in the City but would an increase in the school system budget occur? The answer was resounding, “NO!” We also believed that there had to be collusion among those in charge at City Hall. So, after many attempts to settle this contract, we had to call for a ‘City-Wide Work Stoppage …’A STRIKE!’! This was a difficult and painful decision and a

painful choice. We also realized and were aware that the school system Administration, the Superintendent and his staff, was actually quietly on our side at the negotiation table. They, as well as us, wanted the ability to attract the best educators in our field of responsibility and possibilities.

Teachers in New Jersey are ‘FORBIDDEN TO STRIKE’! We are considered to be essential…except when our salaries and/or working conditions are discussed! We were expected to continue to work without a contract, at the same rate of pay. This was almost enforced slavery, actually supported by the even now current state laws! We were at the mercy of the City management and State Laws that took advantage of the educators seeking a fair salary. Of course, if salaries increased, you could be sure that property taxes would also increase in order to place blame for the tax increase on educators. The Mayor still sat upon ‘millions of accrued tax dollars’ already collected. He had a secret plan for this money!

Our team negotiating this contract told them, politely of course, where they could kiss us and where they should consider placing their contract offer of zero!

The very next day, three thousand teachers and other School Board employees, men and women of all ages, were outside their respective school buildings, walking the picket line carrying ‘ON STRIKE!” signs.

I was a ‘School JCEA Director’ at my school. This was before instant communication via cell phones etc. that we now enjoy today. My, unpaid job, was to carry information obtained at regular ‘Director Meetings’ to my school and fellow teachers. Also, this strike was started in the middle, of the coldest January on record, and it continued until the second week of February. The average temperature was near zero or slightly above, with a strong wind, every single day. Also, every single day, teachers continued to walk the ‘Pickett’ line carrying ‘On Strike Signs’.

Several days into the ‘Strike/Job Action’ I received a phone call at home from the JCEA Presidents Office, informing me that I was arrested for picketing illegally! Somehow, probably because of personal contacts (likely the police themselves), our head office was informed of the arrests before we, the ‘arrested’ were. (Again, even the police department was secretly on our side and actually shocked by this action.)

What a surprise! I started to get calls from my teacher school mates! They were also called! We’ve all been arrested!!!

The Culprit

As it turned out, our Principal…’not the brightest star in the sky’, was cornered at the Board of Education Office in a ‘private meeting’ with a City Official. Likely, this ‘Official’ was the one that recommended her for her current administrative position. He ordered her to name all of those walking the picket line outside ‘her’ school. Likely terrified that she would be replaced, she sang out the names of all of her faculty that was walking the line in the freezing cold. . .almost all of the entire school staff. We were all notified, by phone call from the Union Office, that we were under arrest and we were to indicted for ‘breaking the law!”

We were put on trial, found guilty of ignoring a judges order(which we did) to return to class without a contract. This judge was an out of county judge because no judge in Hudson County, would issue the order to stop the strike. They also suspected (likely knew but had no real legal evidence)that there was a great deal of ‘misappropriation of funds’ going on at City Hall. In there own way they supported us by being ‘unavailable’ to anyone in City Hall. They also didn’t return phone calls to people in City Hall. If they did return calls, they’d leave a trail that would become cause for suspicion that they also were in the ranks of the troops of the Mayor of Jersey City. His reach and that of the Hudson County Democratic Chairman J.V. Kenny, were extensive to say the least.

All of the educators that supported this ‘job action’ that we were really forced into, served there sentences up to 30 days in jail with 20 days suspended(in the case of the picketers) requiring 10 days behind bars, in the Hudson County Jail. All of the teachers arrested, except this author, decided to delay jail for as long as they possibly could.

All of us were tried in a court outside of Hudson County, because no judge in Hudson County would even write the order to stop picketing. They were on secretly on our side and hoped we could bring down this mayor and his cronies. They supported us in the only ‘legal’ way they could, they were too busy and over worked with ‘cases’ etc. and therefore couldn’t and wouldn’t issue any order, until they investigated they entire situation(which they didn’t have time to do!)

The Mayor got his ‘Injunction’ order to stop the ‘Strike/Job Action’, through the influence of his partner in crime, John V. Kenny, the Hudson County Democratic Chairman, who helped a Bergen County Superior Court Judge obtain a seat of the Bench in that county. This favor was an small insurance that if a judge was needed from the other political party he had one in his ‘pocket!’ .This was a favor that was paid back, by the Judge’s cooperation to issue the ‘Injunction’ which the teachers ignored.

All of the time that this mess was going on, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was,‘unknown to us’, carefully watching what was happening. They also could add and subtract as well as we could and they came up with the same answer…there had to be more than enough money in the City Tax accounts to cover any increase in salary for teachers, with money left over.

The arrested teachers that were walking the picket line and pointed out by their Principal, all received 30 days in jail with 20 days suspended. The teachers involved in ‘face to face’ negotiations all received 60 days in jail with 30 days suspended. All of this because they demanded a simple and ’fair’ contract.

“Where did the money go?”

Well, the answer was obvious. To see where the money really went, all you had to do was to review all of the City contracts that the current City Administration of Jersey City was involved in. This would be accomplished by simply obtaining a Federal Court Order to review all contracts, current and past, incurred by this administration. The numbers of ‘property tax’ income plus bank interest should match, after what the costs incurred by City contracts was subtracted. It was really simple math! However, when the Federal authorities did that math they couldn’t come up with a ‘Equals’ sign because there was a serious amount of money missing, that simply couldn’t be accounted for. Where did this money go?

In Federal Court, the Mayor and his playmates, were eventually tried and found guilty of embezzlement of over 50 million dollars of State and Federal Funds, that they couldn’t without any doubt, account for and labeled as simply missing. The question now became, “Where did the money go?” After extensive investigation, interviews of office workers in the Mayor’s Office etc.,it became obvious that the Mayor and the County Democratic Chairman, were totally responsible of the magic act of “Disappearing Money!”

They were accused of embezzlement of State and Federal funds and sentenced to 15 years in Federal Prison. One of them, County Democratic Chairman John V. Kenny, died in prison and others were released after they competed their sentences and were given some time off, if you can believe it, for ‘good behavior’.

The jailed teacher’s sentences, after several years, were ‘expunged!’

This is, we all hoped,was the Courts way of saying,”OPPS!” we made a mistake.

We did we did defy a court order and as Americans, when the court is contaminated by politicians this is what you need to do. The court admitted that they didn’t have enough information and our jailing was the result. This was of course was after the Mayor and his gang were indicted by the Federal Authorities.

We all went back to our classrooms in the same school, after we served our sentences. The Principal soon retired and the ‘Idiot Mayor’ named the school after her. This is how Jersey City was in the 1970’s. All of the professional educators involved continued on, teaching until retirement. They all considered that their efforts and experiences were just another part of the job of an ‘Inner-City Teacher’. Their example, without question, was a demonstration for their students, showing them how to deal with injustice and criminal activity within authority. The Principal that named all of her staff when pressured by that authority, retired and died, in professional disgrace! She followed the leadership of a embezzler and thief of hundreds of hundreds of million s of dollars, at the cost of her staff of professional educators! She did this as a ‘thank you for supporting her in getting the ‘Principal Position’ and to get a ‘pat on her head’! I’m told that she never left her office after this situation and was useless as an Administrator requiring her ‘Assistant Principal’ to do all of the work.

This author went back to work in that same school. As soon as a request for applications for a newly created ‘Math Specialist’ position became available, I applied for it and was granted the position to become one of four math specialists for elementary students, in the entire school system. I was posted in the largest elementary school in the entire city.

I surrendered and did my jail time because I believed that there was really zero possibility escaping this at this time. The powers that existed at that time wanted their ‘pound of flesh’ so to speak. Those arrested with me continued on the hope of escaping jail but I knew this was not likely to happen any time soon.

My wife was in her 8th month of pregnancy with our first child. We could have been jailed at any moment by the word and then influence of the Mayor. There was no way I wouldn’t be there for her, as our first child was born. So, I elected to enter jail on my own, all by myself. This my own personal way of showing the Mayor and his friends, that I wasn’t afraid of jail…but they should be.

Another part of this entire story that is as comical as it is true. The people in charge of the County Prison didn’t know what to do with me. The warden even apologized for my being there and strongly suggested that he was getting some serious ‘flack’ from home, because his daughters and wife were teachers. Our sentences were not called for, we didn’t rob a bank or kill anybody but defied the Mayor and because they were issued by a sitting judge outside the county and influenced by the current County/City ‘power’, there was little anyone could do except ride this bolt of lighting. Not one of us was very happy about being jailed for ‘striking!’ It was really unheard of. Every ‘Union’ affiliated person in the entire county and likely the rest of the State, was aghast at this situation. However, like every game, you deal with the cards that you’ve been dealt with.

The day I entered jail, my wife and her Mom came with me to Court as support, as I surrender myself to the Court. The Jersey City Court House is among the most beautiful buildings anywhere with an enormous amount of original Tiffany ‘colored leaded glass’. The building was circa 1920 or earlier and has been totaled renovated. All of the glass is original! The judge smiled as my Mother-In-Law genuflected as if we were in church, as she entered a row of seats. The judge apologized for my being there but also recognized that it was my own doing, to get this over with, before my first child was born. I thanked him for is kindness and understanding, as he called for the jail guards, to come and pick up a prisoner. His comments and behavior indicated to me that he admired the effort I was making to protect my wife and unborn child. He was as understanding as any human could possibly be. The jail guards came with wrist and leg restraints, used to escort a prisoner to jail. They were accustom to prisoners screaming and kicking as they escorted them to a prison cell. I said to them, “You won’t need those, I want to get this over with, please get me to a cell!

There is far more to this story…the jail experience!

_______________________

Oh! By the way, that new baby we were expecting, is now married to a wonderful girl and together they now have two children of their own. Our son is a ‘Master Teacher of ‘Special Children’ in a major New Jersey, City School System. His wife is also a ‘Master Teacher’. He has earned a Master’s Degree in Special Education and also has earned plus 60 post grad credits for a Doctoral Equivalency. His wife has also earned her Master’s and has also earned her post graduate credits as well. They both teach at the high school level, for different school systems.

______________________

His younger brother is also married and has three children. He has earned a Doctor of Pharmacy/Pharm.D. and works in a major New Jersey Hospital in central New Jersey. His wife is a ‘Attorney’ has earned her Doctorate in Law and currently is working from home and supervising their three children.

____________________________

THE JAIL EXPERIENCE

As a result of all of the above, I decided along with my wife, that it was in our best interest to get this mess over with and put behind us. It was without any question painful. If you, as an American, respected court decisions, you had to actually be questioning yourself. Somehow, either the court was wrong or we were. As American professionals we expect our employers to justly deal with us and not line their pockets with money that they somehow wasn’t included in the school system budget.

My two jail guards were used to prisoners that would fight them as they were placed in a jail situation. I was happy to get this threat over with. After I served my jail time I had a year of ‘probation’ which means that I had to ‘report’ to a court representative once a month for one year and detail my current job and behavior. This was a joke. The probation officer didn’t want to see me anymore than I wanted to see him but it was a requirement that I fulfilled.

The first person I met in jail was the Warden, Mr. D. He was not happy I was there because he was getting a great deal of ‘flack’ at home from his wife and daughters, who were current and /or formed teachers…but not in Jersey City. The Warden was an ‘Innocent’ in this situation. He knew that we were probably ‘set up’ by the current Mayor and his buddies. He knew that the politicians were behind this ‘Strike’ and in many ways the job action was probably justified. It was a battle between ‘good’ and ‘bad’. We were the first causalities. H assigned me to a group room, on the top floor where five other men were assigned. Here is where I slept for the next ten days.

I don’t think anyone in my family has ever been incarcerate for any reason. Needless to say, this was a shock to most of my extended family. My parents were both union members having both been members of the Electrical Worker’s Union through the then ‘Western Electric’ Company that they both worked for. My Father worked for Western for almost forty years and my Mom for over twenty. So Unions were not alien to me. However, neither of them were ever jailed for striking over a Union Contract. So my ‘Union’ support and adventure, was somewhat of a shock to their systems, However without question, I had their support. My aunt, my Mom’s sister, never worked in a Union atmosphere and wasn’t very supportive continually referring to ‘shame’ I brought upon the family by my jail sentence. I totally dismissed her and her thoughts and comments. She, and also others, wouldn’t have the courage to point out what we pointed out and act on it. They would ride along and do what they were told, without regard to the truth. Truth wasn’t their problem. The truth was what made teachers believe that we were being used along with the population of children we taught by the Mayor and his cronies in order to increase their personal bank accounts. The Federal Court upon examination, agreed with us and ‘Indicted’ the Mayor and his cronies. John V. Kenny, Hudson County Democratic Chairman, Mayor Thomas Whelan, Councilman Flaherty, and Purchasing Agent Bernard Murphy and several more were arrested and charged with collision and theft of City, State and Federal Funds.

The Following is a Copy of names of the ‘Individuals’ charged and found guilty of theft of funds that likely would have improved Public Education in the Inner-City.

Jersey City Mayor Thomas Whelan, Jersey City Council President Thomas Flaherty, city Purchasing Agent Bernard Murphy, Port Authority Commissioner William Sternkopf Jr., Hudson County Police Chief Fred J. Kropke, Hudson County Treasurer Joseph P. Stapleton, Jersey City Business Administrator Philip Kunz, and Hudson County Freeholder and Democratic Chairman Walter Wolfe, a war hero whose promising baseball career was cut short by an injury during the war.

The hundreds of thousands of dollars stolen by the above could have funded the Board of Education Contracts with Educators but instead ended up in the pockets of the above named individuals.

This of course, ‘snow balled’ into a job action by teachers that resulted in jail time for teachers striking against a court order that was requested by the people that had initially stolen the money that would have been used for contracts. This is why the teacher’s jail records were expunged.Courts don’t apologize …they expunge! However, expunging doesn’t take away the pain and personal family upheaval that resulted from all of this!

Inner-City teacher’s are a tough bunch and even this didn’t cause them to back away from the politically controlled City Budgets. Now, they actually scared the ‘Hell’ out of the City Council and likely was a major cause of the investigation that put most of the politicians in jail. The Board of Education presents it’s requirements for funding to the City Council…and that’s when the ‘fun’ begins!

Inner-City teachers face different and often more dangerous situations than the average educator. This is enough to warrant a more generous salary because of the danger and level of professional attention and skill, required to teach successfully in the ‘Inner-City’ classroom. Having taught for thirty eight years in this environment, I can attest that it simply isn’t the same as working in the suburbs. There is very often more need and also often more problems, to deal with on an almost everyday basis. Inner-city teachers are a different breed of educator. Over my years teaching, I have observed educators actually sit at their desks after class(both male and female) and cry because they discovered a problem that was ‘unsolvable’ regarding a student in their class. Yet, the next day they were back trying as they might, to make things a little better for that student. I am sure that this also happens in every classroom outside of the cities. But it happens far more often in the inner-city. Truthfully, America is in pain and our children are suffering. Very often teachers are the only ones that a child can trust, to unload the level of their pain on. This does take a toll on the educator.

This brings to mind what we, all teachers, need to learn:

Control the things we can

Deal with the things we cant control

The best way we know how

And have the wisdom

To know the difference!

Sometimes we have to teach our students, facing a serious personal problems, to also learn these very important words and to live by them! You can’t change what can’t be changed but you can learn … acceptance and find peace of mind… and that’s the difference! Learning this might actually save lives!

This is what I learned and taught my own children. This is why I walked the striking teacher ‘Pickett Line.’This is why I was jailed and later exonerated along with others, also arrested and jailed for striking. Things are not always as they seem. In our situation, we found that the money for contracts should have been there but was missing…where did it go? Sometimes you have to look under the carpet to find out what happened to the money! I have to believe that our little strike, alerted the Federal Authorities to what was happening and why it was happening. It was then up to them to investigate our tale and suggestion, regarding what likely happened to the money that should have been there!

I truly hope that you have enjoyed reading about the happenings in and of the ‘Inner-City classroom’. There will be more to come. Over thirty-eight years I was involved in many, many interesting occurrences.