Reminiscent of the Wisconsin public workers' protests that took place this past winter and with incredible mobilization efforts that began last week, hundreds of AFTNJ members joined with NJ's other public employee unions to engage in three days of political protest in Trenton to try to stop the Legislature from eliminating our right to bargain over health care benefits. The first of three major protests took place on Thursday, June 16th, when public employees from around the State converged on the Statehouse. Members from AFTNJ, CWA, IFPTE, AFSCME, NJEA and police and firefighter unions crowded into a Senate hearing room in an effort to "kill the bill" as the Senate Budget Committee voted on whether to move S-2937. Senate President Steve Sweeney, a union member, was jeered and hissed as he explained his support of S-2937, the bill that unilaterally shifts the cost of health insurance to middle-class public employees by circumventing collective bargaining.

A group of public employee union protesters, including Tim Haresign (President of the Stockton College Federation of Teachers - Local 2275) , Debra Davis (Council Staff) and Jean Pierce (HPAE-AFT) were arrested for disrupting the Senate Budget Committee proceedings by joining arms and chanting "kill the bill", "workers' rights are human rights" and for holding up pro-collective bargaining signs in defiance of the prohibition against bringing signs into the Statehouse.

Despite our best efforts to stop Senator Sweeney's bill, he had the support of four Democratic Senators — or rather Christiecrats Teresa Ruiz (Essex), James Beach (Camden), Jeff Van Drew (Cape May) and Brian Stack (Hudson) who voted with Republicans. Even though we received support from real Democratic senators such as Linda Greenstein (D- Mercer), Barbara Bouno (D-Middlesex), Paul Sarlo (D- Bergen, Chair) and Sandra Cunningham (D-Hudson), in a 9-4 vote, S-2937 moved out of Committee and headed for a vote by the full Senate.

Over the weekend, in preparation for Monday's Assembly Budget Committee hearing and the Senate vote, mobilization efforts went into overdrive as union activists set up a tent city called Camp Collective Bargaining that included a graveyard for workers' rights. On Monday morning, nearly two thousand union members marched into Trenton to pack the Senate chamber and to fill the Assembly Budget Committee hearing to keep up the protests. Unfortunately, after nearly nine hours of moving testimony, by a 7-5 vote, the Assembly Budget Committee approved A-4133, the companion legislation to S-2937. Three Christiecrats, Greenwald (Camden), Coutinho (Essex) and Burzichelli (Salem) voted with Republicans to move it along. Five real Democrats opposed the bill: Watson-Coleman (Mercer), Quigley (Bergen), Shaer (Salem), Pou (Bergen) and Johnson (Bergen). In the full Senate, Christiecrats Beach (Camden), Madden (Gloucester), Norcross (Camden), Ruiz (Essex), Stack (Hudson), Sweeney (Gloucester), Van Drew (Cape May), and Whelan (Atlantic) voted with the Republicans. It passed 24-15.

On Thursday, June 23rd, in what was dubbed a final showdown by the media, nearly 9,000 union members and supporters jammed into Trenton in a last-ditch effort to stop the State from engaging in union busting. AFT NJ was out in full force. Kean University Adjunct Faculty Local 6024 provided shelter from the rain, bottled water, rain slickers and moral support to AFT protesters.

While over 8,500 protesters marched around the Capitol building, listened to speakers and enjoyed music that was sometimes festive and at other times somber, Anne Pomeroy (Stockton Federation of Teachers), Judith Pernot (Ramapo College AFT Local Office Manager) and Patrick Nowlan (Rutgers AAUP-AFT) represented the AFT by sitting in the General Assembly Session from early in the morning until late in the evening. Later that evening, during the proceedings Speaker Oliver had people removed from the chamber for clapping in support of "good" Democratic legislators who spoke out against the bill.

Stockton College Federation president Tim Haresign's morning address to the crowd was a moving rallying cry and a tribute to union solidarity

: …what we have to do today is shake the walls of this Statehouse with a mighty roar, a roar that will give courage to those who stand with us, a roar to give strength to those who are wavering and a roar that will strike fear into the hearts of those who stand against the workers of this State; a roar that will even be heard on the Governor's helicopter. We need to roar…to echo from this stage long after we're gone…I'm proud to call you my brothers and sisters."

Late in the afternoon, Assembly Democrats — good Democrats — left a many hours long contentious caucus meeting and came outside to talk to the crowd. Majority Leader Joe Cryan said that there are "good Democrats, with your values… and we stand with you." Sue Tardi, AFT NJ State Federation Higher Ed. Exec. VP and president of AFT Local 1796, cut to the heart of what is really happening behind closed doors in the Statehouse. She told the crowd, "this legislation isn't about saving the tax payers money, this is about an attack on our fundamental right to negotiate — to go to the table and bargain, plain and simple. We cannot and will not stand for it. We will fight for our collective bargaining rights." Council Executive VP Bill Sullivan also addressed the crowd..

Later that evening our good Democratic friends in the Assembly spoke passionately about collective bargaining rights but none so eloquently as did Assemblyman Cryan when he said, "I rise tonight as the majority leader of the majority party with the collective voice of the majority about to be ignored…I rise tonight in sadness…". Assemblyman Cryan pointed out that the public employee unions were ready and willing to negotiate cost savings for health care benefits that would have resulted in significant savings for the State's taxpayers. Instead, this bill "will leave New Jersey's public employees significantly poorer."

Finally, the fight may seem over but it is not —with the hard work, passion and dedication we have seen from our union brothers and sisters over these three days of protests Collective Bargaining Will Rise Again in New Jersey!

Tim Haresign's rally remarks can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amonf6HjL5g

The June 23, 2011 General Assembly Session proceedings can be viewed at: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/media/archive_audio2.asp?KEY=A&SESSION=2010

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