N.J. Public Workers Take a Stand for Benefits

CWAers packed a news conference at the New Jersey Statehouse on Nov. 27, calling on the state legislature to let the collective bargaining process work and not to impose cuts in pensions, health care and other benefits for public workers.

CWA President Larry Cohen, CWA District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton and other union leaders there were joined by 13 state legislators who agreed that collective bargaining should be allowed to work.

"We will bargain our future, we will negotiate our future, but we will not have the legislature or this governor dictate the future to hundreds of thousands of state workers," Cohen said.

Shelton stressed that CWA members were "fighting to protect a middle-class standard of living, with a measure of health care and retirement security." 

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers President Greg Junemann and American Federation of Teachers President Ed McElroy joined Cohen in publicly calling on state legislators to respect public workers and collective bargaining rights. 

"For nearly 30 years, during Democratic and Republican administrations, changes in pensions, health care and other benefits have been negotiated along with pay raises, pay freezes and employment security issues. Collective bargaining simply cannot work if issues can be removed from bargaining at any time," they said in a joint statement.

"In New Jersey, as in every state and community today, public services, budget and taxes are key concerns. But we — the leading voices for workers and workers' rights — will not sit by and watch New Jersey public workers be scapegoated. New Jersey is the richest state in the country. That means we all should aim higher, not lower, in terms of providing the quality services that residents deserve, resolving issues of tax fairness and ensuring that workers' rights are honored for public and private sector workers."

CWA public workers spent their lunch hours on Nov. 30 leafleting outside public offices. A giant solidarity rally is planned for Dec. 11 in Trenton, with public worker union members throughout the state planning to attend.

A state legislative committee has recommended cutbacks and changes to public worker benefits.