500 Stewards Protest Christie's Pension Grab

Hundreds of CWA NJ stewards rally outside the Statehouse in Trenton, protesting Gov. Chris Christie’s attempt to divert a required payment to the pension fund.

More than 500 CWA shop stewards joined hundreds of union activists at the New Jersey statehouse last Thursday to protest Gov. Chris Christie’s scheme to slash his promised payment public workers' pension funds by $2.4 billion.

Christie plans to divert the money to cushion his budget shortfall and recently said, “There is no Plan B.”

But CWA is proposing that the 1 percent start to pay their fair share, through tax increases to balance the budget. That includes raising the marginal tax rate on income above $400,000, a surcharge on corporate taxes, and an alternative minimum tax.

"The governor of the state of New Jersey, blithely and carelessly said a day ago that there was no Plan B, other than to not pay for the legally and morally committed pension plans for hundreds of thousands of workers and their families," CWA State Director Hetty Rosenstein said at the rally.

"He said that as if he was deciding to stop paying into the Wine of the Month Club — can't afford it, gotta let it go," she said, according to The Star-Ledger.

A dozen unions have joined CWA and the National Education Association in filing lawsuits to stop Christie from seizing the money meant for public workers’ pensions.

Meanwhile a new state budget is due in two weeks.