NJ State Workers Ratify Contract

State workers in New Jersey overwhelmingly ratified a new agreement that provides a no-layoff guarantee for 18 months and creates a seven-day paid leave bank to offset 10 furlough days.

The contract covers members of CWA Locals 1031, 1032, 1033, 1034, 1037, 1039 and 1040.

The agreement postpones wage increases that were to take effect July 1, but pension benefits will continue to accrue based on including the postponed wage increases in the pension calculation. At the end of the current contract which expires on June 30, 2011, all the provisions of the contract that took effect in July 2007 will be intact.

The agreement will help save as many as 7,000 state worker jobs at risk because of the state's budget shortfall.