Here we go again, folks. Are you ready? If so, then ring the bell. Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding. Let's get ready to rumble!
After spending his entire first year in office battling the New Jersey Education Association, the governor is putting the gloves on again for his next round. This time though, he'll be squaring off with the unions that represent 49,000 other state employees whose contracts will be expiring in June. Among them are the Communications Workers of America, which represents the vast majority of these employees.
It's hard not to think that negotiations are going to get pretty ugly. When you look at what the governor is planning to do, there's no way we can possibly expect for the unions to just roll over and play dead. Christie has already made a commitment set in stone that there will be no pay increases for state workers. On top of that, he wants to increase pension contributions for all employees to 8.5% of their salary, require them to pay 30% of their healthcare premiums, raise the retirement age to 65, and eliminate cost-of-living adjustments for pension recipients.
Let there be no doubt that the unions are well aware that negotiations this time around will be in stark contrast to those of the past. Generally speaking, negotiations usually begin the year before a contract expires. But union leaders have yet to have any discussions with the governor's office, having been told that they'll have to wait until Christie's budget presentation next week. Thus they're already nervous about having a deal in place by June, and they are afraid to say anything that might rile a bold leader who fearlessly went toe to toe with the NJEA.
The governor has all of the momentum going into the negotiations. Having served his first full year in office, his approval rating just soared to 52%. He has become a national celebrity for the conservative movement, with videos of his town hall meetings garnering thousands of hits on YouTube. He has even received consideration as a presidential candidate, finishing with 6% of the vote in the recent CPAC straw poll. This happened even though Christie didn't attend the conference and has said time and time again that he has no interest in the presidency at this point.
In the meantime, New Jersey voters continue to hold an unfavorable view of state workers' unions. The poll numbers are staggering. Fifty-six percent of voters want to see state workers laid off to balance the budget. Sixty-five percent are in favor of furloughs. Sixty-six percent want pensions reduced, while an overwhelming seventy-seven percent support salary freezes. Sixty-eight percent back the governor's cap on salaries for school superintendents.
While the voters clearly support teachers by a margin of 62-17 percent, they have a highly unfavorable view of the NJEA (44-27 percent). By an even wider margin, (52-36 percent), the poll respondents said that the union plays a negative role in improving education.
So when are the unions going to get it? They cry about their situations and plead for public sympathy. They say that increasing contributions toward pensions and health benefits while freezing salaries basically amounts to a pay cut. They claim it's all a major miscarriage of justice. Poor things. Want sympathy? You'll get none from the majority of voters, and even less from me.
These people, especially tenured teachers whose jobs are secure, should get down on their knees and thank God every day that they're not in the unemployment line. They're worried about salary freezes? Contributing 8.5% to pensions? Paying 30% of their healthcare premiums? OK, then. Take a look at my situation and let's see how much right they have to complain.
Up until last year, I had a prestigious state job as a director in academic affairs at a public university. Life was good. I made just under six figures, and had an extremely generous benefits package. Then, it all changed at the drop of a hat. The governor handed down $174 million in cuts to funding for higher education. My university leaders sat down and took a long, hard look at the budget to see what they could cut to offset the loss in funding. In the end, my position was one of the casualties. Come July 1, 2010, I was officially out of work.
My income level was cut by two-thirds. I was deemed eligible to collect $600 per week in unemployment benefits, which amounts to $31,200 over the course of one year. Come to think of it, that is actually less than one-third of what I was making. Healthcare premiums? I had been contributing 2.5% of my salary toward my health insurance, which amounted to almost $2,500 per year. To simplify it, let's just say it was costing me $200 per month. Now, I am paying $647.92 per month for my health insurance. And that is just for one single person. I'd hate to even think of what it would cost me if I had a family.
So to put this into perspective, my income level decreased by more than two-thirds and the cost of my health insurance more than tripled. How's that for a wonderful combination? Oh, and it gets better. Let's talk about pensions. The unions are crying about having to contribute 8.5% of their salaries. I was contributing 10%, while the state was putting in another 8%. Thus 18% of my annual salary was going toward my retirement savings. Now that's gone too. I have lost nearly a full year of employment, and may even lose more if I can't find a job by July. That's at least one more year that I'll have to work in order to make up for the lost wages. The unions are upset about raising the retirement age to 65? I'll be lucky if I retire by 70 at the rate things are going.
Now that I've given you insight into my current living situation, I'm sure you understand why I am supporting Governor Christie one-hundred percent in this tug of war. Heck, if I could, I would volunteer myself to be his anchor. Every time another union leader opens his mouth, it makes my blood boil.
So what will the final result be? I think it's safe for me to predict that there is absolutely no chance of the governor backing down. He sees that the majority of New Jerseyans back him in his fight with the unions, so he has no reason to worry. For him, it's another test, another chance to show voters that he has the stomach to stand up to the bullies and do what is right. If he compromises in any way, he'll look weak and hurt his image. Thus I believe that he'll tell the unions, "This is it, take it or leave it." If they leave it, then he can always take the legislative route. There is no reason why he can't implement reforms to state pensions and health benefits through legislation. If the unions want to play hardball, then he'll have no problem delivering a little chin music with a 100 mph heater.
I am rooting hard for the governor in these negotiations, and I have the utmost confidence that he'll come out on top. Having been out of work for eight months now, I honestly do not want to see state workers laid off. I now know firsthand how difficult it can be to lose one's job. Sometimes it can be discouraging to know that you're not making an active contribution to society, and it can make you question your self-worth. But state workers have to get real and understand that we're in a dire economic situation. Accepting pay freezes, increasing pension contributions, and putting out one-third of the cost of your healthcare premiums is not too much to ask. They have to consider all of the New Jerseyans who, like me, are in a far worse situation. They have to begin to grasp that we're headed straight off a cliff if we don't get our fiscal house in order. Or they could simply choose to remain stubborn and maintain their public image as the state's first and foremost villain. Union leaders, the choice is yours. Do the right thing, or the governor is going to do it for you.
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