Thousands rally against cut in benefits State workers protest Legislature's plans in lunchtime rallies across N.J. Friday, December 01, 2006 • BY DUNSTAN McNICHOL • Star-Ledger Staff Firing the first public shots against the state Legislature's 98-point plan to rein in property taxes, thousands of unionized state workers took to the streets at locations around the state yesterday to protest plans to trim their retirement and health benefits. "It's a disaster for state workers," said Sue Wright, a computer technician for the state courts, one of 50 union members picketing and chanting outside the Hughes Justice Complex in Trenton. "We don't deserve it. We're not the cause of the problem." Organized by the Communications Workers of America, the largest union for state workers, the lunchtime rallies took place at dozens of state office buildings from Sussex County to Camden County. In Trenton, more than 200 workers demonstrated at three state office buildings. They were protesting 41 recommendations from the Legislature's Joint Committee on Public Employee Benefits Reform, one of four special committees that studied ways to trim government spending and property taxes. The proposals include raising the retirement age from 60 to 62, adding co-payments for health coverage and rolling back pension benefits by about 9 percent for new employees. The panel's recommendations come as the payments state and local governments make into the public retirement system are soaring, and the funds have a deficit conservatively estimated at $18 billion. Committee members also said the cost of insurance premiums for hundreds of thousands of retired teachers and public employees are likely to double within three years, and that a 9 percent retirement benefit hike approved in 2001 is proving unaffordable. Carla Katz, president of CWA Local 1034, said the demonstrations also were a reaction to hard-line proposals she said Gov. Jon Corzine's negotiators are presenting in early talks over new union contracts to take effect in July. "We're not just focused on the legislative proposals. We are also protesting incredibly deep cuts in wages and benefits that have come across the bargaining table," said Katz, passing out protest signs at a rally outside the state Labor Department building. Yesterday's demonstrations were the first of a series of protests labor leaders are planning. Next week union members will hold town hall meetings at six locations across the state. And on Dec. 11, when both the Senate and Assembly are to meet in Trenton, various unions have promised to bring 30,000 protesters to the Statehouse to decry the proposed benefit changes. Union representatives say many of the proposals would unfairly affect career state workers, who generally earn only modest pensions. They average about $18,000, according to Hetty Rosenstein, president of Local 1037 of CWA, who coordinated rallies at two sites in Newark. Rosenstein said many of the lawmakers proposing the cuts are accruing generous retirement packages themselves that would not be affected by their proposals. "There's a bunch of double-dipping pension padders who would like to cut it (benefits)," Rosenstein said. "It's despicable." During its hearings, the special committee looked at examples of part-time professionals who had cobbled together public jobs to amass pensions exceeding $100,000 a year. The legislators proposed exempting future -- but not current -- elected and part-time officials from the retirement program and requiring future employees to earn pension credits on only one job at a time. Rosenstein noted that Assemblywoman Nellie Pou (D-Passaic), co-chair of the Benefits Committee, whose pension credits on her $49,000 Assembly salary and on the $35,900 a year she earns as a city official in Paterson will entitle her to retirement benefits well above the average state worker. "How dare you suggest Division of Youth and Family Services workers are somehow abusing the pension system in some way?" Rosenstein said. Joe Donnelly, spokesman for the Assembly Democrats, said Pou helped make sure the unions' point of view was heard during the committee hearings, but noted, "The Assemblywoman has said consistently that all parties, including the union, have to face up to the fact that the current system is unsustainable." Dunstan McNichol covers state government issues. He may be reached at (609) 989-0341 or dmcnichol@starledger.com. © 2006 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.