We Are One

April 4 is the 43rd anniversary of the death of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was assassinated in Memphis while supporting striking municipal sanitation workers there. The Memphis strike was one of many struggles to establish unionization and bargaining rights for public employees in the US.

Today, the bargaining rights of public employee unions are again under attack across the country. In honor of Dr. King, unions around the country are taking actions in support of public employee unions.

In New Jersey, the contracts of all state employees unions will expire on June 30 and the Governor Christie has promised to be "aggressive and adversarial" in contract negotiations. He is refusing to negotiate the cost coverage of our health care benefits. Instead, he insists that our health care costs and coverage be legislated. In response, members of New Jersey AFL-CIO unions are participating in an email-writing campaign to our legislators.

We ask that you take a few moments to contact your NJ state assembly persons and senator and demand that our health care benefits be negotiated at the bargaining table, not legislated by the legislature. The easy-to-follow directions by clicking here.

Testimony from Assembly Budget Committee Hearing on March 16, 2011

Rich’s Assembly Budget Hearing Testimony from MSU AFT Local 1904 on Vimeo.

You can find the text of his testimony here.

Assembly Budget Committee Public Hearing & Pre-Hearing Press Event Sponsored By Better Choices for New Jersey

On Wednesday, March 16, 2011, the State of New Jersey Assembly Budget Committee will be holding a public hearing to take input on Governor Chris Christie's proposed budget. The public hearing will be start at 9:30 a.m. and will be held in MSU's University Hall Conference Center. The focus of this hearing will be on education, higher education and local government issues. Rich Wolfson, President of AFT Local 1904, will be making a statement at the hearing.

Prior to the start of the hearing, Better Choices for New Jersey will be holding a press event at 9:00 a.m. outside of University Hall. Their message will be that New Jersey's working families are not satisfied with the Governor's 'new normal' and that a $250 million increase in school aid after over a billion in cuts and flat funding for higher education after years of underfunding is simply unacceptable.

We hope that you will join us in speaking out about the value of public education and public higher education. To address the Assembly Budget Committee you will need to register online at http://www.njleg.state.nj.us and click on "online registration" under the "Budget Public Hearings" heading. Or you can register by phone by calling the Legislative Budget and Finance Office at 609-292-1170.

For those able to attend the press event at 9:00 a.m. outside of University Hall, buttons and AFT t-shirts will be available. If possible, please contact the Local's office at ext. 4453 to let us know if you plan on attending.

Schedule for March 16^th:

9:00 a.m. Better Choices for New Jersey Press Event outside University Hall

9:30 a.m. Assembly Budget Committee Public Hearing in the Conference Center, 7th Floor of University Hall

What Gov. Christie Proposes Public Employees Pay for Health Benefits in Dollars and Cents

The Council of NJ State College Locals (CNJSCL) has calculated what Governor Christie's proposed health benefits contribution would be if public employees were required to pay 30% of the total premium costs.

Currently, public employees are contractually required to pay 1.5% of their gross salary towards health benefits. As you will see by reviewing the chart the CNJSCL has prepared, 30% of the total premium costs far exceeds the 1.5% of an employee's gross salary.