Students were greeted by faculty and staff in Paterson outside of the classroom on the sidewalks Wednesday morning. Teachers say they are frustrated and protesting their working conditions after failing to reach a contact agreement this past spring.

Gina DeSino, a physical education teacher, Norman S. Weir School said, "They want us to stay later in the day, they want us to go longer school year and not compensate us with an increment in any of our pay, some of our buildings don't have air conditioning, how do you do that in the heat?"

The spring meeting ended with the Teachers Union and the Paterson Education Association walking out on the last negotiation. The PEA says that 1,300 district employees have left the district in the past three years - with still 10% of positions needing to be filled.

"You don't always get everything you want. But when you walk away from the table and call impasse, then we don't continue to negotiate and that's why we're where we are," says Paterson schools Superintendent Eileen Schafer. “Once we get together, I'm hopeful that we'll have a contract. When I became superintendent I told them in 90 days I'll have a contract I had it in less than 90 days but it takes both sides.

The union and district will meet again along with an arbitrator in mid-October.