{"id":2581,"date":"2018-05-03T13:41:50","date_gmt":"2018-05-03T17:41:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musingsbymichael.com\/blog\/?p=2581"},"modified":"2018-05-03T13:41:50","modified_gmt":"2018-05-03T17:41:50","slug":"contract-with-the-state-works-union","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.musingsbymichael.com\/blog\/2018\/05\/03\/contract-with-the-state-works-union\/","title":{"rendered":"Contract with the state work’s union"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Phil<\/a><\/p>\n

Phil Murphy has negotiated a new contract with the state work’s union, but up to about a day ago he did not know how much it would cost.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Governor said about the contract<\/a>, “This used to be standard operating procedure in this state, on both sides of the aisle. This is not that big a deal. It’s the right thing to do for workers and working families. I’m very comfortable with where we came out. We’re getting back to practices that used to be the norm in this.<\/i>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier today the Office of the Governor stated that the projected cost would be $148.9 million. The agreement with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) gives all workers a two percent raise retroactive to August 2017 and another two percent pay hike to begin this July. All of the eligible workers will receive retroactive salary step increases in additional to the pay raise. Under Governor Chris Christie these salary step increases were not given.<\/span><\/p>\n

$78 million of the total cost is because Christie froze the step increases and clothing allowances after the last contract expired in 2015. As part of this new contract the union is required to withdraw from litigation over the suspended step increases.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMore than half of that was making up for what my predecessor didn\u2019t do. Even in prior administrations on both sides of the aisle\u2014even when there wasn\u2019t a contract\u2014the steps were paid<\/i>,\u201d Murphy said about the contract<\/a>. The projected costs due to the new contract for the fiscal 2019 budget year is expected to be $48.8 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

My problems with this contract are that Murphy thinks that we should go back to the days of the unions dictating the terms, I say this because that he said that he is going back to what was the norm before Christie. And the Governor did not have the financial numbers on the impact of the new contract for this coming years budget and beyond (as of one day ago).<\/span><\/p>\n

Both of these things are very troubling and telling. It seems that Murphy wants to go back to the bad financial practices of previous administrations which have put us in the bad state we are <\/span>now <\/span>in. To me our governor needs to take a course in state economics 101 and then maybe his eyes will open to the truly bad state this puts our already over burdened citizens in.<\/span><\/p>\n

In my opinion it is not good to go back to the bad practices of the past, what Murphy calls the ‘norm’. Plus not knowing what a possible contract agreement could cost the state and yet blindly saying yes to this agreement shows me how incompetent our Governor is!<\/span><\/p>\n

That is my opinion- Jumpin Jersey Mike<\/span><\/p>\n