Public
workers unions rally in Trenton
Speakers ask acting Gov. Codey to
leave their benefits untrimmed in budget.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005 • By TERRENCE DOPP •
The Express-Times
TRENTON -- About a thousand union members
rallied Monday on the Statehouse steps to protest what they
called acting Gov. Richard Codey's assault on public sector
retirement benefits.
Codey has said the cost of providing
health care benefits and pensions for New Jersey's growing
pool of retired teachers, police officers and other public
workers has become a drain on taxpayers.
Marchers included current and retired
members of the New Jersey Education Association,
Communications Workers of America, Fraternal Order of Police
and the Teamsters.
Public employees "have a right to retire
with dignity. We should treat people in the state of New
Jersey with dignity and honor," said Assemblyman Jeff Van
Drew, D-Cape May. "What we often do is punish those who
deserve it least."
According to records maintained by the
Department of Personnel, New Jersey's 77,000 state employees
earn a median salary of $46,567 in 2004.
For all workers in the Garden State, that
number dropped to $41,332, according to 2004 figures posted
on the Department of Labor's Web site.
Pensions are funded using proceeds from a
$70 billion investment account. State officials are looking
to stretch the money by employing alternate investment
routes, such as real estate, and capping some prescription
drug benefits.
In the next five years, the cost of
payouts is estimated to swell from $1.5 billion per year to
over $4 billion.
"The fixed costs are not going away,"
said Tom Vincz, a spokesman for state Treasurer John
McCormac. "We are doing all we can do to manage growth and
increase our returns."
Those in attendance disagreed.
Carolyn Davis, a Clinton woman who
retired four years ago from the Roxbury Township School
District in Morris County, objected to Codey's use of the
phrase entitlements for public sector retirement
benefits.
"They are not. They are earned benefits
that have been negotiated," Davis said while standing among
the demonstrators. "All of us took on a public service job
and knew we weren't going to be millionaires. But at the end
of that service at least you have a good retirement
package."
She added: "The good faith is
broken."
Unveiling his proposed $27.4 billion 2006
budget in March, Codey said the cost of retirement benefits
for unionized public workers is one of several big-ticket
budget items that needs to be addressed.
Others savings proposed in the budget
include not renewing $272 million in so-called pork barrel
projects approved in the current budget and recouping $50
million by ordering department heads to institute across the
board 10 percent cuts.
Terrence Dopp is Trenton correspondent for The
Express-Times. He can be reached at 609-292-5154 or by
e-mail at tdopp@sjnewsco.com.
© 2005 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
|