What about the other unions, guv?
I was delighted to see that four public sector management organizations sent a letter to Gov. Corzine yesterday challenging his opposition to cost-cutting, legislative changes to public employee health benefits - and his rationale for it.
Corzine has said he thinks any changes in employee benefits should be negotiated rather than legislated. He is now negotiating new contracts with the state's major employee unions.
The joint statement from the state School Boards Association, League of Municipalities, Council of County Colleges and Association of Counties underscored the inanity of Corzine's stance:
"Under current law this approach (negotiating changes) would help state government, but there is a fundamental flaw ... when it is applied to health benefits provided by local government employers," the letter said. "Unlike the state government, municipalities, counties, school boards and county colleges that participate in the State Health Benefits Program are prohibited from bringing health benefit issues to the collective bargaining table."
That's right, those benefits CAN'T BE negotiated. Any changes to the program MUST BE DONE legislatively. It's scary that the governor is refusing to act on a bill that would help save New Jersey taxpayers tens of millions of dollars on such a flimsy pretext.
Corzine has said he thinks any changes in employee benefits should be negotiated rather than legislated. He is now negotiating new contracts with the state's major employee unions.
The joint statement from the state School Boards Association, League of Municipalities, Council of County Colleges and Association of Counties underscored the inanity of Corzine's stance:
"Under current law this approach (negotiating changes) would help state government, but there is a fundamental flaw ... when it is applied to health benefits provided by local government employers," the letter said. "Unlike the state government, municipalities, counties, school boards and county colleges that participate in the State Health Benefits Program are prohibited from bringing health benefit issues to the collective bargaining table."
That's right, those benefits CAN'T BE negotiated. Any changes to the program MUST BE DONE legislatively. It's scary that the governor is refusing to act on a bill that would help save New Jersey taxpayers tens of millions of dollars on such a flimsy pretext.
posted by Randy Bergmann at 1:32 PM
4 Comments:
Corzine is a Rich suit with NO Common Sense ,property tax will be a shame ,he has NO idea what to do about it,he just wants to avoid thar dreaded Constitution Convention on his watch
I am reminded of that scene in Casablanca where the French cop says, "What? There is gambling going on in here? I am shocked! Shocked, I tell you!"
So Corzine lied? I'm shocked! Shocked, I tell you.
Hmmm . . . then how do medical benefits change for public employees? Some of us have a larger co-pay than we once did.
Please get your facts straight. Municipalities, counties, school boards and county colleges that participate in the SHBP CAN AND DO bring health benefit issues to the collective bargaining table. They are prohibited from creating a two-tiered system between new and current employees or requiring any employee to pay the cost for the individual coverage. However, they are allowed to negotiate how much of the dependent care that the employee must pay. The dependent care can sometimes be about double the cost of the individual care so there is a great potential for savings in that sector. While there are limitations placed on the employers that participate in the SHBP, there is still a lot of room for those employers to seek cost savings. I would hope that as a journalist you would research and present the all of the facts. You act more like a YELLOW journalist who would rather whip the emotions of the readers by presenting half-truths, than to present all of the facts in an impartial manner.
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