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Topic: Unions will kill us... (Read 2065 times) |
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sammysmom
Ward A
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Re: Unions will kill us...
« Reply #30 on: Mar 24th, 2010, 8:58pm » |
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NJ Gov. Christie to school employees: Skip raises, pay for health care
GEOFF MULVIHILL
The Associated Press
SOMERVILLE, N.J. - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday he has a way for school districts to avoid layoffs even after their state and federal funding is slashed.
His solution: Get all public school employees to agree to salary freezes for the coming year and to contributing to their health insurance costs.
Christie laid out his plan before a friendly audience at the library of a Somerville elementary school. He said he would lay out details in a letter to the New Jersey School Boards Association and the New Jersey Education Association.
"We should put the children first, and that means we will have to sacrifice," said the governor, who has often criticized the raises educators routinely received. The increases usually were more than 4 percent.
Shared sacrifice has been a theme for the governor since he took office two months ago and began proposing cuts. Last week, he proposed a state budget with cuts in nearly every department to close a projected $11 billion deficit for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
One increase was in aid to schools, but it wasn't nearly enough to make up for more than $1 billion in lost federal funding. Christie called for aid to school districts to be cut by $820 million.
Many districts found that their specific cuts were far bigger than the 15 percent they say they were told to expect. More than 50 districts would lose all their state funding for their main programs.
For the past week, school boards have been holding emergency meetings to rework their budgets before April 20 up-or-down public votes on budgets in most communities.
Deep layoffs are common in districts across the state, as are less painful cost reductions such as delaying replacement of aging computers for a year. A handful of teachers unions-including those in West Windsor-Plainfield and Montclair-have agreed to renegotiate their parts of their contracts in hopes of preserving jobs.
Education Commissioner Bret Schundler said Tuesday that most teachers unions were declining when school boards suggested the measure.
The state does not have authority to force contract changes, but it is offering incentives.
Christie and Schundler said the wage freezes and contributions to health coverage costs by all employees-including nonunion administrators-would save districts enough to make up for nearly all aid cuts.
It wouldn't be enough for every district, though.
But the officials said they could adjust the aid to avoid layoffs in every district where the concessions are made-if there's broad buy-in.
Contributing to their health insurance costs soon will become a reality for school employees anyway.
On Monday, Christie signed into law a measure that would require all public employees to pay at least 1.5 percent of their salaries toward health coverage. The payments begin kicking in as current contracts expire for employees covered by collective bargaining.
A spokesman for the NJEA, the state's largest school union and one of Trenton's most powerful lobbying forces, did not immediately return a call on Tuesday. But in recent days, the union has been cool on the idea of reopening contracts, saying it's up to individual locals, and reminding them that it's not guaranteed to avert layoffs.
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LionelTrainGuy
Administration
it's a long story...
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Re: Unions will kill us...
« Reply #31 on: Mar 26th, 2010, 8:40pm » |
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Governor Christie Launches Blistering New Attack Against the NJEA
David Matthau Reporting
One day after the NJEA turned thumbs down on Governor Christie's suggestion that public school employees agree to a salary freeze - and pay 1 ½ percent of their salaries to cover part of their health care benefits - in order to share in the pain everyone is feeling because of the state's huge budget shortfall in these tough economic times - the Governor is once again criticizing the teachers union…and offering up another suggestion to them.
During a visit to a Ramsey fire station, Christie said "the real question is, who's for our kids - and who's for their raises?...don't let anybody (in the NJEA leadership ) tell you that they're for our kids - as they've got their hands in your pocket, wrenching the money out."
The Governor said "I'd like to know what the NJEA is spending 130 million dollars a year on - which is the amount of money they collect every year in dues from their members- I'd like them - if they really think they're serving the public - to open their books - open their books to scrutiny…if they really care about transparency and openness, and it's for the children, open your books and let the public see what you spend this money on."
Christie then said if the NJEA is unwilling to share in the sacrifice - by forgoing their salary hike this year and contributing towards their health coverage - "that's ridiculous - and every citizen should be standing up and saying that's wrong…who's making the sacrifice? They're not making any sacrifice at all…how about they waive their fees and their dues for a year - at 730 dollars - so that their teachers will feel no net loss - out of pocket for paying 1 ½ percent? I think they could make due with the 130 million that they collected last year…if they don't do that, you know this is about greed and power - no Governor has been willing to stand up and say this before - because they're scared to death of these people - but I don't care."
The Governor said the bottom line is that this is "about the people sitting in that palace on State Street who want to continue to come across the street - like they did on Monday - and try to bully people into giving them everything they want - well you know what? They've got a Governor and a Lut. Governor sitting in the front office now who aren't going to put up with it."
A spokesman for the NJEA said the union would not be releasing an official reaction to the Governor's latest attack, but he did say off the cuff "the Governor is doing his level best to distract attention from his budget priorities- and he's working hard to demonize teachers - he is forcing schools into deep and harmful cuts - he has refused to consider extending the millionaire's tax -he's asking teachers to subsidize his bad priorities. We want a constructive discussion about how to provide students with a world-class education, but as long as his priorities are such, he's not creating a situation where we can have that kind of dialogue."
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sammysmom
Ward A
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Re: Unions will kill us...
« Reply #32 on: Apr 18th, 2010, 9:56pm » |
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Union warns of NJ teacher flight
The Associated Press
As many as 30,000 teachers in New Jersey could retire before the next school year if pension rules and benefits are changed.
The New Jersey Education Association made the prediction after the Christie administration proposed requiring state employees and new retirees to begin paying a portion of their benefits beginning August 1.
Education Commissioner Bret Schundler said state employees who retire before that date would retain free lifetime medical benefits. Schundler said salary and benefits for new hires cost 83 percent less than those for veteran teachers.
The NJEA says a flood of retirements could strain the state's pension system and force school districts to scramble to hire new teachers.
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LionelTrainGuy
Administration
it's a long story...
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Re: Unions will kill us...
« Reply #33 on: Apr 25th, 2010, 10:04pm » |
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Unions sue to halt NJ pension reforms
By: ANGELA DELLI SANTI
The Associated Press
New Jersey's largest police and firefighter unions on Friday filed a lawsuit challenging newly enacted changes to their pensions and health benefits.
The suit challenges the constitutionality of pension reforms that Gov. Chris Christie signed into law last month and become effective in May. It was the first legislation that Christie signed since he became governor in January.
One reform requires all public workers, including police officers and firefighters, to contribute part of their salaries to health care costs for the first time. Another, which is sometimes referred to as a "me too" clause, stipulates that negotiated state health benefits will be applied to local government workers' contracts.
Christie's office said the reforms are fair and help ensure that the pension system is sustainable for future workers.
Representatives of the police and fire unions maintain that their workers should be treated differently than other public employees because of the unique nature and risks of their jobs.
Police and firefighters are not allowed to strike. Arbitrators settle their wage and benefit disputes.
Former labor leader Carla Katz, a lawyer with Fox & Fox who represents the firefighters, said the laws step on collective bargaining and don't take the arbitration process into account.
The mandated contribution toward health benefits represents "an improper intrusion into pending arbitration proceedings," according to the complaint. There are 215 pending arbitration cases across the state.
The suit filed in Mercer County Superior Court by the state Police Benevolent Association, Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association and union locals names the state treasurer, the Health Benefits Commission, the Senate and Assembly as defendants.
It seeks to prevent the law from taking effect as scheduled on May 21.
"We felt compelled to file the lawsuit," said Bill Lavin, president of the FMBA, which represents 5,500 active and retired firefighters. "We believe these laws are a heavy-handed intrusion on collective bargaining. Changes directed at future workers are divisive for our members, who are dedicated to saving lives and completely reliant on one another."
Tony Wieners, president of the state Police Benevolent Association representing 33,000 police officers, promised an aggressive fight to halt the reforms.
Bill Dressel, executive director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities, said a protracted legal fight could cripple mayors and local governments counting on savings from the reforms "to avoid further furloughs, layoffs and potential property tax increases."
The pension reform bills, which mostly affect only newly hired public workers, will save taxpayers billions of dollars over the long-term by giving employees less generous pensions and requiring them to contribute more toward their health benefits.
New Jersey's pension system is underfunded by about $46 billion, in large part because the state has skipped its payments into the system for nearly 20 years.
Christie's budget proposes that the state skip its entire $3 billion contribution in the fiscal year that begins July 1.
"Our desire is to make the public pension and benefits system fair and sustainable for beneficiaries and fair and affordable for taxpayers," Christie spokesman Mike Drewniak said Friday.
The reforms require all government workers to contribute at least 1.5 percent of their salaries toward health care, cap the amount of unused sick and vacation time workers can cash out at retirement and bar part-timers from enrolling in the state pension system.
One bill rolls back a 9 percent pension benefits increase the Legislature approved nearly a decade ago so that new employees won't be entitled to enhanced pensions. Another provision stops each worker from having more than one pension-eligible job at a time.
The bills advanced over the objections of the unions representing state workers, teachers, police officers and firefighters, all of whom argued that the reforms infringed on collective bargaining.
Efforts to enact similar reforms in 2006 and 2008 were largely halted by then-Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat, who said he wanted benefits issues to be negotiated, not legislated.
Christie has called the pension reforms "a good start," and has urged the Legislature to consider more aggressive measures that would affect current employees' pensions and benefits as well as those for new hires.
The unions have cautioned that further changes would spawn a rash of retirements, further stressing the pension system. Christie has dismissed such warnings.
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my whole world is falling, going crazy
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Greetings from beautiful downtown Riverside, New Jersey!!!
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Mr._Torino
Ward A
Posts: 865
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Re: Unions will kill us...
« Reply #34 on: Apr 28th, 2010, 8:57pm » |
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Layoff plan OK'd; notices to be sent
By: DANIELLE CAMILLI
MOUNT HOLLY - The New Jersey Civil Service Commission has approved the county's layoff plan and notices could start to be sent out by the end of the week.
Most of the layoffs will be effective by mid-June, according to the approved plan.
The Burlington County Board of Freeholders will meet tonight at 7 and is expected to adopt the 2010 budget, which reduces spending and cuts the tax levy. The $221.2 million spending plan also narrowly trims the county tax rate.
No meetings between county officials and leaders of the Communications Workers of America Local 1036 have taken place since last week, when the freeholders urged the membership to reconsider concessions that they said could save some, but not all, of the jobs on the chopping block.
Union leaders said they had given the county alternatives to layoffs, but would not concede to a wage freeze, holiday giveback and/or health care contribution with no assurances that all jobs would be saved.
In his letter to the Civil Service Commission, Daniel Hornickel, the county's director of human resources, said the layoffs are needed on the basis of "economy and efficiency." Hornickel outlined the county's cost-saving measures since 2008, including a hiring freeze of nonessential employees, the elimination of several nonessential positions, a wage freeze for nonrepresented employees, and reductions in departmental operating costs.
Officials have said about 79 employees could be laid off, but now believe the number could be less because of retirements and other separation-from-employment issues. In his letter, Hornickel asked that "special re-employment lists be created" to assist laid-off workers.
The layoffs would cut through almost all departments, according to the approved plan.
They include all the employees in the county's Economic Development and Regional Planning Department, which will be eliminated in the 2010 budget and its functions transferred to the Burlington County Bridge Commission, under its role as the county's improvement authority.
Twelve full-time employees from Buildings and Grounds could be cut, including an assistant maintenance superintendent, four maintenance repairers and seven building maintenance workers.
The plan calls for up to 35 full-time employees from the Health Department to be laid off and two others to be demoted.
The county also received approval to terminate all of its employees at Post House, the substance-abuse rehabilitation center in Pemberton Township. The freeholders are looking to have a private contractor operate the center, according to the layoff plan. If the privatization moves forward, those layoffs would occur between August and October.
The plan calls for significant personnel cuts in the Highway and Engineering departments. Two dozen employees could be affected, including supervisors, maintenance workers and clerical staff.
"Highway and engineering will be required to share employees, where practical," the plan reads.
The county's row offices, including the clerk, surrogate and sheriff, also could see cuts to their staffs. The Clerk's Office could lose four full-timers and two part-timers.
"Workloads have significantly decreased on account of the housing market recession," the plan reads.
Resource Conservation's Division of Cultural Affairs and Tourism is targeted to lose as many as three full-timers and three part-timers, including the program coordinator of special events, program development specialist, historian, and cultural arts center director.
"The county is greatly cutting back its arts and entertainment programming," according to the layoff plan.
The proposed budget reduces the tax levy by $2.14 million over last year. The tax levy is $160.1 million.
Under the plan, the tax rate would be narrowly trimmed from 31 to 30.97 cents per $100 of equalized valuation. For a house valued at $200,000, the county tax would be $619.40. Officials said 29 of the county's 40 municipalities would see a decrease.
The proposed budget is $2.7 million less than last year, with salaries and wages estimated to increase only $115,025 and other expenses decreasing $2.8 million. Debt service also is decreasing $3 million for a total of $31.4 million, officials said.
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Mr._Torino
Ward A
Posts: 865
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Re: Unions will kill us...
« Reply #35 on: Apr 28th, 2010, 9:07pm » |
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NJ governor: Union blocking teacher salary freeze
The Associated Press
Gov. Chris Christie says he believes a majority of New Jersey's public school teachers would accept a one-year salary freeze _ if their union would give them the option.
Christie says the New Jersey Education Association has blocked teachers in many districts from considering the freeze.
The Republican governor asked school personnel to skip raises in the coming year due to the state's dire budget picture. He's proposed slashing more than $800 million in state aid to schools.
Meanwhile, the NJEA filed suit Wednesday to try to block recent legislation that would require public school employees to contribute 1.5 percent of their salaries toward health insurance coverage.
In its suit, the NJEA claims the law violates teachers' collective bargaining rights.
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blondie
Pharmacist
Ward A
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Re: Unions will kill us...
« Reply #36 on: Apr 30th, 2010, 11:50pm » |
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NJ gov undeterred by union lawsuits
By: ANGELA DELLI SANTI
The Associated Press
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has vowed to press ahead with additional pension and health benefits changes for public workers despite two lawsuits challenging reforms he recently signed into law.
Christie said he's confident New Jersey will prevail in suits filed by police and firefighters unions and the public teachers union. The suits challenge the first legislation Christie signed as governor.
"I have full confidence that the pension reforms we passed are constitutional," Christie said.
Despite blowback from the unions, the new Republican governor promised to push for other reforms. They include a proposed 2.5 percent cap on local spending and property tax increases modeled on a Massachusetts law. At the same time, however, Chrsitie's budget proposal for the next fiscal year allows the state to skip its $3 billion pension payment.
Christie was swept into office on a wave of voter discontent over soaring property taxes, which average $7,300 per homeowner per year, the highest in the country. Christie has promised to stabilize _ then reduce _ New Jerseyans' tax burden. But to do it, he says he needs labor concessions and cost-cutting reforms that his Democratic predecessor, Jon Corzine, was unable to achieve.
The Legislature tried twice and failed to enact pension and health benefits changes during Corzine's single term as governor. Even Democrats pointed to Corzine _ who wanted such changes negotiated at the bargaining table not legislated _ as an obstacle to achieving pension reform.
New Jersey's pension system is underfunded by about $46 billion and could one day be insolvent unless fixes are made. The state has skipped or greatly reduced its annual payments to the funds for most of the past 20 years.
The pension changes enacted so far affect only future workers. Reform legislation not yet introduced could affect the benefits of current workers as well.
"I'm confident there's a will in the Legislature, I can tell you there's a will in this governor's office, to continue to examine all kinds of reforms that will bring the public sector back into line with the private sector during these really difficult economic times," Christie said.
The state's largest teachers union, the New Jersey Education Association, filed a lawsuit Wednesday to halt the reforms Christie signed last month. The state's police and firefighters unions filed a similar suit last week.
The unions claim the law requiring government workers to contribute 1.5 percent of their salary toward health care costs interferes with collective bargaining and is unconstitutional. NJEA's suit charges that the mandatory contribution amounts to an illegal salary reduction.
"The legislation was ill-conceived from the beginning, and was rushed through the Legislature to meet an artificial timeline imposed on lawmakers by the governor," NJEA President Barbara Keshishian said in a statement posted on the union's Web site. "We are asking the court to see this for what it is: a tax imposed selectively on public employees only."
A hearing on the police and firefighters challenge is scheduled for May 20, the day before the law is scheduled to go into effect.
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LionelTrainGuy
Administration
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Re: Unions will kill us...
« Reply #37 on: May 2nd, 2010, 10:55pm » |
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UNION TROUBLES HAS NO BOARDERS
Board member's dual roles decried
By: Annie Tasker
Bucks County Courier Times
During North Penn's teacher strike, one instructor drew particular attention - his name sketched on picket signs, his contract used as ammunition by union members whose own expired in September.
That disparaged colleague: Vincent Sherpinsky, a Council Rock School District teacher and, as North Penn school board president, the face of that district's contract dispute with its own teachers union.
Sherpinsky's two roles have drawn attention in recent weeks as he worked to bargain down North Penn teacher salary demands while working at a school district that, as of three years ago, paid the highest average teacher salaries in Pennsylvania.
Sherpinsky has said the districts' tax bases are not comparable, and North Penn's offer to teachers is generous; union members disagreed, unanimously rejecting the district's proposal in a voice vote on Monday, the union president said.
Teachers returned to school without a contract last Tuesday after a six-day strike. A judge has ordered the negotiating teams to meet at least five times every two weeks to keep working toward a compromise. Their next meeting is Thursday.
Tensions have run high between representatives of the teachers and the school board.
North Penn has been critical of union bargaining tactics on its web site and, recently, ran a newspaper advertisement accusing its president of lying about the board's bargaining position.
Teachers, in turn, featured Sherpinsky prominently on picket signs during the strike -slogans included "Vince has a contract, what about us?" -and some traveled to his school in Newtown Township to take the fight to him.
North Penn Education Association President Alan Malachowski said the group of teachers who picketed at Council Rock North High School, where Sherpinsky teaches business, were not sent by the union. They were Council Rock graduates themselves, he said.
"The negotiations have been tough," Sherpinsky said last week. "I've got to say it that way. They're coming to my school district to picket. They want to compare Council Rock's salary schedule, which is based on an + affluence level that is 35-40 percent higher in the Council Rock School District than it is in North Penn. And yet they want to compare the salaries and say they should be equal."
Sherpinsky, who has been a teacher for four years, earns about $71,000; he recently saw a considerable pay bump after earning his master's degree and 49 additional graduate credits. He stands to earn $82,298 by the end of the current Council Rock teachers contract in 2011-2012, according to salary schedules provided by that district.
Today, a North Penn teacher with Sherpinsky's level of experience and education earns just more than $60,000. They'd earn about $65,000 in the 2011-2012 school year under the school board's most recent contract proposal and reach $70,000 by the end of that proposal two years later, according to a North Penn analysis.
Council Rock does not reimburse teachers for their graduate-level coursework; North Penn pays 80 percent of the equivalent of the going rate at state schools.
Last year, in exchange for a one-year contract extension, Council Rock teachers - including Sherpinsky - approved reducing increases to this year's salary schedule from 2.5 percent to 1.75 percent.
Raises go back to 2.5 percent next year and increase to 2.75 percent by 2011-2012.
Sherpinsky came to teaching in his forties after a mentor encouraged him to pursue a career in education; his previous jobs included work in wholesale, retail and human resources consulting. He said he worked part-time when he started at Council Rock and applied there because of its reputation for offering "the highest quality education available in a suburban school district."
"Salary wasn't a main factor," he said. "Working part-time, I made less than the statewide average teacher. But I recognized what an opportunity this was for me professionally, as well as personally."
He said his school board position kept him from applying to teach at North Penn, "even though I wholeheartedly believe North Penn is a great place to work."
Malachowski said he didn't know that the disparity between teacher pay at Council Rock and North Penn was problematic now, since many teachers are happy to simply have work during a recession, but that it may be difficult to compete for the best and brightest once the economy improves.
He didn't take issue with Sherpinsky being a school director and a teacher, though he questioned how the board president justified taking a raise this year when North Penn has proposed adding no increases to the current year's salary schedule.
"At Council Rock, I didn't see him giving back his raise. I didn't see him telling his association that he thought he was getting too much, that he should only get a zero. I don't know how he puts the two of those things together," Malachowski said.
Sherpinsky, first elected as a school director in 1997, guessed that there are plenty of school board members who are teachers or are married to teachers.
"It just happens in this particular case the union wants to make it an issue in the negotiation process," he said.
Pennsylvania State Education Association spokesman Rob Broderick also suspects that Sherpinsky's position is not unique, though he did not know of any specific examples in the area.
Some Council Rock coworkers have snubbed him because of his involvement in the North Penn talks but, on the whole, "my colleagues understand that my board service is a public service," Sherpinsky said.
Being a school board member and a teachers union member doesn't violate any PSEA rules, and doesn't directly relate to the union-member relationship, Broderick said.
"Teachers can run for school boards just like everyone else," he said.
Asked for her opinion of Sherpinsky's dual role as a teacher and school board negotiator, Council Rock Education Association President Mariann McKee said her union "supports the North Penn Education Association in their efforts to gain a fair contract."
Though he has served as a spokesman during recent negotiations, Sherpinsky said he is not a lead negotiator and not a member of the board's contract negotiating committee.
He said he got involved toward the end of last summer, with the board's blessing, when talks stalled and the threat of a strike during the first week of school loomed large.
North Penn school board negotiators are offering teachers a five-year contract with average yearly salary increases of 1.98 percent in year one, 4.09 in year two, 4.21 percent in year three, 3.8 in year four and 3.56 in year five, all of which include salary step increases for teachers as they accumulate education and experience. The district also offered a three-year option with the same raises as the first.
The union's latest offer trims about $1.29 million from the salaries recommended in an arbitration report - a report the school board unanimously rejected as too expensive.
Based on a district analysis, the union's offer would pay teachers average raises of -0.92 percent in year one, 4.59 in year two, 4.28 in year three, 3.96 in year four and 3.74 in year five, including steps. The negative number in year one is due to mid-year retirements the union factored into its analysis, the district said.
Malachowski has said the district projections are inaccurate because they don't factor in savings that will be seen when older teachers retire and are replaced by younger hires lower on the pay scale.
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my whole world is falling, going crazy
there is no escaping now I'm crackin' up
my front porch light is on but the bulb has burned out.
Greetings from beautiful downtown Riverside, New Jersey!!!
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sammysmom
Ward A
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Posts: 963
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Re: Unions will kill us...
« Reply #38 on: May 22nd, 2010, 11:29pm » |
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Judge: NJ Public Employees To Pay For Insurance
TRENTON
A New Jersey judge ruled Thursday that a new law requiring public employees to pay at least 1.5 percent of their salaries toward health insurance can go into effect Friday, as scheduled.
Unions for police and firefighters had asked Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg for a temporary restraining order that would have kept the law from taking effect -- at least in some situations.
The request was part of a larger lawsuit that seeks to block the new law, which is part of the state's efforts to hold down costs by being tougher on public employees and their unions, including those working for local government.
The new law, championed by first-year Republican Gov. Chris Christie and approved unanimously in March by a Democrat-controlled Legislature, requires the contributions of employees once their current contracts expire. Many public employees already contribute at least 1.5 percent of their salaries to health coverage. The unions say some locals have chosen smaller pay raises to keep the free health care, or have switched to inferior insurance coverage to keep it free.
Feinberg sided with the state in every key issue as she ruled from the bench Friday following more than two hours of courtroom arguments.
The unions' main contention was that the amount employees pay for their health insurance should be worked out in contract negotiations -- not imposed by the state.
"Not every term and condition on which a collective bargaining unit would want to negotiate is fair play," Feinberg said.
She also rejected the unions' arguments that the law amounts to an unfair tax on the state's roughly 400,000 public employees, or that the law is vague.
The unions will get another chance to make their case in court later. But they'll do so knowing that one judge has already found that the case is not likely to succeed on its merits.
While the unions ultimately hope to stop the law from being enforced entirely, the main concern on Thursday was narrow. Police and firefighters are prohibited by state law from going on strike. When their contract talks reach impasses, they go to a lengthy arbitration process.
The public safety unions said the 1.5 percent payment requirement should not apply to the 215 local unions currently in that process.
The New Jersey State Policeman's Benevolent Association issued a statement Thursday saying the group is disappointed that the ruling did not clear up any confusion in how the law should be interpreted.
Meanwhile, Christie spoke to the state's branch of the American Association of Retired Persons, criticizing the unions for trying to block the law.
"They are in front of a judge today asking if they can pay nothing," he said. "We have to impose discipline on government. Left unconstrained, government will continue to spend."
Christie is the 55th Governor of New Jersey. Upon his election to the governorship in November 2009, Christie became the first Republican to win a statewide election in New Jersey in 12 years.
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If you go to bed with an itchy ass, you wake up with smelly fingers...
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sammysmom
Ward A
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Re: Unions will kill us...
« Reply #39 on: Sep 28th, 2010, 10:07pm » |
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Poll: NJ voters want public workers' costs hiked
By: ANGELA DELLI SANTI
The Associated Press
A poll released Wednesday shows New Jersey voters approve of Gov. Chris Christie's proposal to raise health care costs for public workers, and they're split on whether to reduce pension benefits negotiated by current employees.
A Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Press Media Poll found nearly half of voters surveyed feel government workers should pay at least 25 percent of their health care premiums. They now pay about 8 percent.
The poll showed voters were divided at 46 percent on whether the governor should cut pension benefits for the current work force.
Christie has proposed pension and health benefits reforms that include a graduated increase in health insurance costs to 30 percent, raising the retirement age and eliminating cost of living increases to pensions. Most of the proposals require legislative approval.
Christie has said the reforms are necessary to shore up a pension system for teachers, police and firefighters and state, county and municipal workers that is underfunded by at least $46 billion. The health benefits fund is underfunded by an estimated $75 billion, Christie has said.
An overwhelming 78 percent of those polled seemed to agree, saying that pension costs are out of control.
The governor also found agreement on a proposal to ban workers from receiving two public salaries. Nearly two-thirds of those questioned said the practice of "double-dipping" should be eliminated, even if both jobs are part-time.
The poll also found 61 percent who said government salaries are adequate to compete with private-sector jobs. Six in 10 voters said they support replacing pensions with 401(k) accounts for future workers.
The telephone poll of 801 New Jerseyans was conducted Sept. 15-19 and has a sampling margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.
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If you go to bed with an itchy ass, you wake up with smelly fingers...
...don't forgot to wash your hands BEFORE you lick your fingers!!!
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sammysmom
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Posts: 963
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Re: Unions will kill us...
« Reply #40 on: Oct 20th, 2010, 9:41pm » |
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NJ's PBA cancels forum to protest layoffs
The Associated Press
The New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association is canceling a seminar in Atlantic City to protest the city's layoff of 60 officers.
PBA spokesman Jim Ryan says the union might also pull its annual spring convention.
Ryan told The Press of Atlantic City the collective bargaining seminar and the convention have been held in Atlantic City for the past 25 years. Ryan said they draw more than 2,500 PBA members to Atlantic City.
PBA president Tony Wieners says the union can't support a community that doesn't support its police department.
Mayor Lorenzo Langford had no comment.
The February seminar has been moved to Pines Manor in Edison.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wRqBV9VVuU
If you go to bed with an itchy ass, you wake up with smelly fingers...
...don't forgot to wash your hands BEFORE you lick your fingers!!!
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sammysmom
Ward A
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Posts: 963
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Re: Unions will kill us...
« Reply #41 on: Oct 20th, 2010, 9:42pm » |
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Christie nixes Black Friday holiday
The Associated Press
State employee union leaders are seeing red over New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's decision not to give workers Black Friday off.
Former Gov. Jon Corzine had allowed the unions to trade the day after Thanksgiving for Lincoln's Birthday in February.
The workers can take the time as a vacation day.
Communications Workers of America state director Hetty Rosenstein told Gannett New Jersey's Statehouse Bureau "it's dirty pool."
Employee Relations director David Cohen says legislation is needed to exchange holidays. Otherwise, Cohen says state workers could get both days off.
One union leader is threatening to go to court to enforce Corzine's 2009 Memorandum of Agreement.
State workers receive 13 holidays off.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wRqBV9VVuU
If you go to bed with an itchy ass, you wake up with smelly fingers...
...don't forgot to wash your hands BEFORE you lick your fingers!!!
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sammysmom
Ward A
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Posts: 963
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Re: Unions will kill us...
« Reply #42 on: Nov 7th, 2010, 10:08pm » |
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Lawsuit: Stop Newark police, firefighter layoffs
By: DAVID PORTER
The Associated Press
Police and firefighter unions in New Jersey's largest city have filed a lawsuit to try to stop Newark Mayor Cory Booker from imposing layoffs in two weeks.
The layoffs are scheduled to go into effect Nov. 12, and the suit claims some gang members in Newark are wearing T-shirts with that date printed on them in anticipation.
"These devastating cuts will butcher public safety in the city of Newark and will create unacceptable risks to firefighters, law enforcement and the safety and welfare of the public," the suit says.
Filed Wednesday, the lawsuit claims Booker can't order layoffs without the consent of the City Council. The council has opposed the action. The suit also alleges alternatives to layoffs weren't fully explored.
Last month, the state's Civil Service Commission approved Booker's plan to lay off 96 firefighters and 167 police officers. That number represents about 25 percent of the fire department and about 15 percent of the police department, according to the lawsuit.
In addition, more than 100 police captains, lieutenants and sergeants face demotion as part of the layoff action.
The mayor has said the layoffs are necessary because of an $11 million gap in the city's budget.
"As demonstrated by the state's approval, the City of Newark followed all of the proper and required procedures in the implementation of its layoff plan," Booker spokeswoman Esmeralda Diaz Cameron said Thursday. "These layoffs are an unfortunate and unavoidable consequence of a national economic crisis, and are absolutely necessary to maintain the City's fiscal integrity."
The suit claims the city notified union leaders about the layoffs in August but didn't specify when they would occur or offer any other details. Attempts by the unions to discuss alternative ways to save money were rebuffed, according to the suit.
Attorneys for the unions sought to bring the matter up at regularly scheduled meetings of the Civil Service Commission, but meetings scheduled for Oct. 20 and Nov. 4 were canceled due to lack of a quorum while the commission seeks to fill two vacancies, the suit claims. A meeting with the commission is required for a stay of the layoffs.
Booker campaigned on a strong anti-crime platform, and violent crime in Newark has fallen since his election in 2006, when the city hit a 10-year high in murders. Lately, though, it has increased: Murders were up 25 percent this year through early October, and rapes and robberies were up 10 percent.
In September, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a petition with the Department of Justice seeking federal oversight of Newark's police department for what the ACLU called "an ingrained culture of lawlessness."
The petition cited numerous lawsuits brought by residents and department employees that have led to nearly $5 million paid in settlements over the last 2 1/2 years.
Police and city officials have called the ACLU's allegations frivolous and inaccurate.
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IP Logged |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wRqBV9VVuU
If you go to bed with an itchy ass, you wake up with smelly fingers...
...don't forgot to wash your hands BEFORE you lick your fingers!!!
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sammysmom
Ward A
Gender:
Posts: 963
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Re: Unions will kill us...
« Reply #43 on: Nov 14th, 2010, 10:00pm » |
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Panel: NJ state workers get Black Friday off
The Associated Press
New Jersey's Public Employment Relations Commission says state workers would be "irreparably harmed" if they don't get the day after Thanksgiving off.
The panel ruled against Gov. Chris Christie, who said workers would have to use a vacation day to stay home on Black Friday. They would get Lincoln's Birthday off instead.
Former Gov. Jon Corzine struck a deal in 2009 that allowed public employee unions to trade the day after Thanksgiving for Lincoln's Birthday.
Commission Designee Stuart Reichman found breaking the agreement would damage the negotiation process.
Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak told the Statehouse Bureau of The Star-Ledger of Newark and The Record that the governor's office is exploring its options.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wRqBV9VVuU
If you go to bed with an itchy ass, you wake up with smelly fingers...
...don't forgot to wash your hands BEFORE you lick your fingers!!!
|
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sammysmom
Ward A
Gender:
Posts: 963
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Re: Unions will kill us...
« Reply #44 on: Nov 22nd, 2010, 8:08pm » |
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NJ governor won't appeal paid holiday decision
The Associated Press
The Christie administration says it will not appeal a recent ruling granting state workers a paid holiday on the day after Thanksgiving.
New Jersey's Public Employment Relations Commission last week overruled an attempt by Gov. Chris Christie to make "Black Friday" a regular workday.
Former Gov. Jon Corzine struck a deal in 2009 that allowed public employees to work on Lincoln's Birthday in exchange for getting the day after Thanksgiving as a paid holiday.
Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak confirmed to the Statehouse Bureau of The Star-Ledger of Newark and The Record of Woodland Park on Tuesday that the administration would not appeal.
Corzine ended a long-standing tradition of giving state workers the day off by executive order.
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IP Logged |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wRqBV9VVuU
If you go to bed with an itchy ass, you wake up with smelly fingers...
...don't forgot to wash your hands BEFORE you lick your fingers!!!
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