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Chris Christie throws down the gauntlet with the NJEA

Back in January I suggested that Gov. Christie extend his state worker wage freeze to the local level. A freeze to municipal and school employee salaries makes sense.

Yesterday Governor Christie threw down the gauntlet with the teachers union. In a letter to NJEA President Barbara Keshishian he asked them to accept a one year wage freeze and reopen all local contracts for new negotiations in light of the state's dire fiscal situation.

NJEA to Christie: "blow me".

The NJEA — which has about 880 local affiliates — provides advice and support, but the decision on whether to reopen a contract is made by the local union. [A spokesman] said "a majority of locals that have been approached have said no."

And indeed in my own town the unions are willing to accept layoffs rather than reopen their contracts. Of course the guys doing the asking, Superintendant Daniel Geradi and Business Administrator Ronald Skopak haven't rushed to cut their own salaries and benefits either. They're the 2 highest paid employees in the district; leading by example just might be what's called for here.

Instead they're laying off some part timers and hoping lower paid replacements for retirees will allow them to cover the shortfall in state aid. And they're increasing taxes by the absolute state maximum of 4%. The governor has proposed lowering that cap to 2.5% but the school district isn't even going to try adhering to the new standard. They're postponing the day of reckoning and sticking it to the taxpayers once again.

It's a pattern being repeated across New Jersey. Athletics, elective courses, music programs, and extra-curricular activiites are being slashed, layoffs are directed at entry-level or part-time exmployees only, and everybody is raising taxes by 4%.

The unions and their enablers on the local school boards have not yet accepted the new cold hard reality. Maybe it's just taking time to sink in. But sooner or later everyone is going to have to realize that the salad days of six-figure salaries, double-digit raises, and gold plated benefits are over.

Posted at 09:22 by Chris Wysocki   [/education]   Comments | Archived | Perm Link |
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