GOVERNOR CHRISTIE’S
DESTRUCTIVE “TOOLKITS”
ATTACK COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

June 18, 2010

Contact your elected representative by phone AND by email and let them know of your opposition to these attacks on collective bargaining. Better yet, schedule a visit to their legislative office and talk to them in person.

Gov. Christie’s proposals, which he has dubbed “toolkits” are an aggressive attack on New Jersey’s public sector workers and their unions.  Christie’s “tools” have no constructive purpose – they exist to destroy public employee unions in New Jersey. Governor Christie wants to:

• Break up the Council’s bargaining unit and have each of our institutions negotiate with the union separately instead of having one Statewide agreement negotiated with the State.
  • Separate negotiations at our campuses would result in the hiring of a new layer of managerial employees at each campus to handle negotiations and contract administration.  This would be a scandalous waste of money in the current fiscal climate. The current system provides a statewide salary guide and statewide promotional and hiring procedures that limits unequal competition between institutions for hiring the same faculty or staff. It has helped ensure pay equity for women and minorities. This could disappear with separate bargaining and lead to a situation where salary rates differ greatly from institution to instituion. If the State is not the employer of record, the benefits the State appropriates for our employees might not be funded leaving the institutions to fund them.
• Change faculty tenure by authorizing the establishment of probationary periods for nontenured faculty members at State colleges.
  • The bill’s intent is to authorize boards of trustees of state colleges and universities to impose a probationary period in addition to 5 years of service to be eligible for tenure.  This would allow our institutions boards to establish probationary periods differing from their sister institutions. One might have a one year probationary period before the tenure clock begins and another might establish five years. A possible worst case scenario could be 11 years total time with a probationary period coupled with the existing 5 years of service before obtaining tenure.
• Limit increases in State appropriations in each budget to 2.5% through a proposed constitutional amendment.
  • Imposing any kind of arbitrary cap on State government spending is irrational. There are clearly times when it will be impossible to avoid austere budgets, but there are also times when a stronger economy allows the State to spend more. Think of what this would mean for our State college/university budgets, which are already starved for state funds, not to mention other essential state services. This could lead to a 2.5% cap on total compensation in our negotiations which would effectively mean the elimination of our uniform salary guide of ranges and steps which ensures that all employees, including women and minorities are fairly compensated. If the State continues to fund benefits for our employees, any associated increase in costs would be factored into the 2.5% cap on appropriations.

The 2.5% limit on increasing State appropriations is Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 103.

The bill relating to breaking up the Council’s bargaining unit is Senate 2026/Assembly 2963.

The bill to have a probationary period before the tenure clock starts is Assembly 2964. There is no Senate companion bill yet.

As of June 18, 2010, a 2.5% cap on bargaining bill has not yet been introduced. According to the Governor's website, it would be intended for school districts but bears close watch in the event that it is modified to include all State employees or our institutions..

These are among a few of the Governor’s “toolkits” being slowly introduced by Republican legislators. These and the other toolkits will be acted on at some point after the State budget is approved. It's important to ACT NOW before it is too late. We must keep the pressure on the legislature to keep them from coming out of committee or defeat them if they do. Please visit this site and check your email for alerts on when the legislature will begin to deliberate on these bills.