Judge Orders Christie to Pay Up in Pension Lawsuit

A state judge ruled Monday that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie broke the law when he cut $1.57 billion from a promised payment to public workers' pension system. Now the administration must work with state lawmakers to fulfill its original commitment.

In this CWA video, Dennis Siegel, a psychologist for the New Jersey Departments of Human Services and Corrections for 27 years, and Grace Bethea, with the New Jersey Network for 37 years, among others, tell their stories. They worked years paying into their pension expecting the state to put in its share. Gov. Chris Christie pulled the rug out from under these public servants by reneging on the state's contractual obligation to fund it. A judge just told Christie that he violated the state Constitution.

"In short, the court cannot allow the state to 'simply walk away from its financial obligations,' especially when those obligations were the state's own creation," Superior Court Judge Mary C. Jacobson wrote in her decision.

CWA sued to stop Christie, saying he violated a 2011 law that was meant to shore up the pension system. Christie and state legislators had raised workers' pension contributions, increased the age of retirement and eliminated cost-of-living adjustments. In return, the state would begin to make bigger payments each year into the pension system to make up for years of skipped and almost non-existent payments. But while workers held up their end of the bargain, Christie reneged.

CWA was joined in the lawsuit by the Professional Firefighters Association of NJ (PFANJ), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers (IFTPE) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

"It was a good day for the tens of thousands of pensioners – social workers, child protective services workers, nurses, environmentalists, unemployment clerks, roads workers, research scientists, teachers and others – who made their pension payments during a lifetime of service," said Hetty Rosenstein, CWA NJ state director. "It's unconscionable that these hard-earned pensions are in peril, and we can't let that happen. It's not only a legal requirement for Governor Christie to make the pension payments, it's also a moral requirement. Will another three hundred thousand seniors live in poverty simply because Christie cares more about what plays to right-wing audiences in Iowa than doing right by New Jerseyans?"