Tiptoeing through the minefield of state workers' benefits Friday, May 26, 2006 • Star-Ledger Opinion column It was 4 p.m. on a sparkling day, and workers at the Department of Environmental Protection were streaming out of their office in downtown Trenton. "I love this job," said Alice Young, a secretary. "The benefits are great." True enough. State workers can retire at age 55, with lifetime health coverage. Their pension benefits are guaranteed, even if the stock market crashes. They are entitled to 15 sick days a year, and if they don't use them, they can take home up to $15,000 cash at retirement. They work 35 hours, and they generally don't get fired unless they murder someone in front of witnesses. They have a deal, in other words, that few of us saps in the private sector can match. And that presents an enormous political challenge for Gov. Jon Corzine, who is caught between his friends in the labor movement and conservative critics who worry about the spiraling costs of these benefits. "We can't afford this anymore," says Tom Wilson, the Republican state chairman. "In this budget, everyone is being asked to give something up -- except the public employee unions. They are the sacred cow in this budget." Wilson wants Corzine to threaten layoffs unless the state workers agree to reopen contract talks now, a year ahead of schedule. That's not going to happen, and Wilson knows it. What he's really trying to do is pressure Democrats, and to rally Republicans around a tough stance on spending. It is a risky strategy. For one, few Republican legislators are itching for a high-profile fight with the state employee unions. "To win in New Jersey, we need to win the votes of labor," says Assemblyman Bill Baroni, a Republican whose district in Mercer County is packed with state workers. "And it's not the public employees who have gotten the state into this $5 billion hole. It's the politicians in Trenton who did that." No doubt, state workers take more blame than they deserve. The average state worker gets an annual pension of about $18,000 at retirement, according to the Communication Workers of America. And the reason taxpayers face such high pension payments this year is that politicians in both parties have ignored the growing shortfall for a decade, skipping one payment after another. State workers have made their deposits each week through paycheck deductions. "We've paid our share," says Carla Katz of the CWA. "Now they need to pay theirs." Ask state workers about their benefits, and they point to their modest salaries. Bob Mueller is a research scientist in the DEP with 25 years' experience. His $85,000 salary is far above DEP average, but below what he could earn at a private firm. "I was recently offered a job that pays $35,000 more," he says. "I probably won't go. My pension is very important to me. But I certainly would make more." For Corzine, the land mines are everywhere on this one. He promises to bargain tough next year, but Republicans are certain to take a harder line. And if he pushes the unions too hard, they will turn on him, as they did on Jim Florio, the last Democratic governor to challenge them. Florio tried to reopen contract talks by threatening layoffs, and was beaten back. But the CWA wasn't done with him even then. Years later, some of its locals got revenge by working against him in the 2000 U.S. Senate primary. "That's one of the reasons we supported Corzine," Katz says. Finally, Corzine faces the awkward fact that he had a two-year romantic relationship with Katz, one of the CWA's lead negotiators, and forgave a $470,000 loan he gave her in 2002. Is he ready to battle her now? "He's said over and over that he'll have no problem representing taxpayers at the bargaining table," Wilson says. "Now we'll see." Tom Moran's column appears Wednesdays and Fridays. He may be reached at tmoran@starledger.com or (973) 392-1823. © 2006 The Express-Times. Used with permission.