A couple of months ago, when a courageous majority in the New Jersey Legislature joined with Governor Christie to rein in–and not very harshly at that–pension and benefit costs for public employees, we were treated to a rare sight. Major public-employee union leaders staged demonstrations outside the State House and elsewhere, and let their rhetoric foam over. Such union leaders as Rae Roeder and Chris Shelton of the CWA, Lee Saunders of AFSCME and Charles Wowkanech of the AFL-CIO led noisy protests which are their right. Shelton let loose not only against Christie, but also Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver – two loyal, pro-union Democrats if there every were such – screaming “we have Adolf Christie and his two Generals trying to turn New Jersey into Nazi Germany”. The sign on the podium said “Christie & Sweeney – Perfect Together”.
NJEA leader Barbara Keshishian, mistaking the passage of new legislation for a declaration of war, said “we didn’t come looking for a fight, but if you attack us, you are going to have a fight”. I guess math teachers don’t use words as harsh as “Nazi”.
All the Legislature did was to increase the portion of salary which public workers are to pay towards their health and pension benefits. Police and firemen will now pay 10%, and most other public employees 7.5%, towards pensions that kick in for them as young as 25 years on the job. They will also pay, for medical coverage, from 3 to 35%, not of their salary, but of the actual cost of the insurance.
The hyperbole just described may be common in private union situations, but is unacceptable in the public sector. It’s like this: if your co-workers or neighbors speak nasty to you, you have to put up with it, but if your children say the same things to you, you smack them for their impudence.
I am not willing to pay such a large part of the health coverage of so many people. I pay through the nose for my own coverage and that of my employees, over $600 per month per person, whether I’m making any money or not. I could see paying perhaps half of a public employee’s individual coverage, but I wish to pay nothing for their family members. That’s their responsibility.
I am also not willing to pay the pension, often 2/3 of what their salary was, of people who may live for 30 years or more beyond retirement. I don’t have a pension. What is in my IRA came purely out of my own income, and I may have to work until I drop. I have had years when the property taxes on my house exceeded my total business income.
Next time I’ll take a look at benefits issues in Plainfield’s budget. But I will say now that if elected to the City Council, I will vote against any labor contract, in which the cost to the taxpayers of employee benefits and pensions exceeds what I have just outlined. There is no good reason why public employees should have better benefits than private employees.
Michelson's View 