COURT BLOCKS ILLEGAL CORZINE FURLOUGH PLAN


Union Calls on Governor to Find Savings by Cutting Political Appointees and Costly Contracting Out, Rather than Layoffs of Middle-Class Workers
State Workers Say They Are Willing to Do Their Share
TRENTON, NJ - Following an appeals court ruling this afternoon invalidating the Corzine administration's illegal f urlough plan, CWA, New Jersey's largest public sector union, called on the Governor to look for savings in the jobs and contracts it has granted to politically-connected insiders.
"The court recognized that the Corzine administration's plan for staggered furloughs of state workers who provide vital public services violates state law," said CWA state director Hetty Rosenstein. "It's now clear that to achieve short-term savings, the Administration should cut the jobs and lucrative contracts of politically connected insiders."
Rosenstein blasted the Corzine administration's escalating threats to lay off workers who make an average of $51,000 a year, when it continues to protect the politically connected from bearing any of the burden of the financial crisis. "We're disappointed and angered=2 0now by talks of layoffs when the State continues to employ hundreds of political hacks and is doling out more than $75 million in unnecessary engineering contracts to campaign contributors," said Rosenstein.
"We're in serious financial straits, but that doesn't give the State the right to single out the people who serve the public as it looks for savings," said Rosenstein.
CWA urged the Corzine administration to abandon its illegal approach to furloughs and come to the bargaining table to negotiate savings with the union. "We're willing to do our share, provided the administration does not continue to try and balance the budget on the backs of child protective services workers, nurses, teachers, scientists, counselors and other workers who serve the public. Governor Corzine needs to come to the table," said Rosenstein.
Rosenstein also connected the emergency furlough action to Corzine's budget plan. "The administration is continuing to ask public employees to bear too much of the burden of our state's fiscal crisis, while exempting many of the wealthiest New Jerseyans from any sacrifice whatsoever. Under the Corzine budget pla n, the average state worker making $50,000 a year will lose over $4,000 of their income, while wealthy New Jerseyans making 10 times as much will pay zero in higher taxes," Rosenstein said. "State workers are prepared to do their share to help New Jersey through this budget crisis, but Governor Corzine is simply demanding too much from middle- and working-class state workers who live paycheck to paycheck. We must find a fairer way to close the budget gap."
CWA represents more than 40,000 state workers and 15,000 local government workers who would have been affected by the rule invalidated by the appeals court today.