CWA Blasts N.J. Lawmakers' Call for Benefit Cuts

CWA, which currently is in contract talks on behalf of 43,000 New Jersey state workers, denounced a move this week by state lawmakers to intrude in the bargaining process by proposing an array of benefit cuts for government employees.

Reacting to a call by a joint legislative panel to shift new hires from the state pension plan into a 401(k)-type savings plan, along with other proposed cuts, District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton said: "We are outraged by the apparent determination of the legislature to slash the retirement security of future public employees. Not only is the legislature seeking to dictate benefits which are currently under negotiation, but they are doing so without actually documenting any savings to the taxpayers. This is the politics of resentment masquerading as tax relief, and no one wins."

CWA pointed out that there are no savings in the panel's recommendations that would address the state's near-term budget crunch or curb rising property taxes, and that it would take decades before a pension shift for new hires would yield any savings. "This is the worst kind of political grandstanding," Shelton said.

"Changes in health and retirement benefits should be dealt with through the time-honored process of mutual compromise that is embodied in collective bargaining. We cannot bargain with a gun pointed at our heads," he said.

"We will join with New Jersey teachers and other public employees to fight these changes with all the resources, financial and political, at our disposal," Shelton declared.

Following the legislative panel's public announcement on Nov. 15, Gov. Jon Corzine said, "It's clear in the statutes that responsibility for negotiating is not with the legislature," and noted that his office and the unions were "working together to try and have a common view."