New Jersey AFL-CIO President Charles “I Don’t Accept Reality” Wowkanech showed that he is seriously concerned about the public sector reforms that are going to be taking shape this year in Trenton. Usually there would be no problem. Literally for decades the only time any sort of legislation that got passed with regard to public sector benefits were bills that led to increases. Increases that brought us to the unsustainable mess that is the New Jersey budget.
Wowkanech finally wants to bring the union to the table and negotiate in “good faith”. This change of heart is a result of two things. A tough governor who is not afraid to take the AFL-CIO and its brethren on, and the fact that even Senate President Sweeney is putting plans forward to reform public health benefits this year. That announcement alone probably knocked Wowkanech out of his chair earlier this week. A year ago, no, strike that, a mere month ago, no one would have ever guessed that Sweeney would be on board with any sort of reform proposal at all. It basically ensure that it will happen, and it will happen this year.
Wowkanech said, (courtesy of PolitickerNJ):
“The backbone of labor-management relations in both the private and public sectors, regardless of what trade or sector you’re in, has been the right to collectively bargain wages, hours and working conditions,” said Wowkanech whose union represents about one million members. “We recognize as trade unionists, as taxpayers and as working families the need to control health care costs. We know that our unions are ready, willing and able to sit down and negotiate in good faith and in a responsible way. With state employee contracts up for renewal in July, that process should be getting underway now.”
So now Wowkanech wants a seat at the table. The reasoning is obvious. He wants to get the contracts renegotiated for the next few years without having to be subject to whatever reforms take place this year. Sweeney’s plan is far weaker than Christie’s. It is a much more gradual approach. So the timing of this change of heart is also obvious. Sweeney’s weak reforms are still too big a pill for the unions to swallow. They want to give less than what their champion in the Senate is asking, and without Corzine in the Governor’s office, they have no where else to run but the negotiating table. They want to be grandfathered in to avoid paying for their healthcare, we all get that, who would not want free health insurance? The unfortunate reality is that is not the way things work, not anymore.
If Wowkanech thinks that this Governor is going to allow the taxpayers of New Jersey to incur additional cost, or for the budget to endure further damage at the hand of entitlement mentality, he’s got another thing coming to him.
"If Wowkanech thinks that this Governor is going to allow the taxpayers of New Jersey to incur additional cost, or for the budget to endure further damage at the hand of entitlement mentality, he’s got another thing coming to him".
Yes right, this Governor wont allow additional costs with entitlement mentality unless of course its his good buddy Joe DiVincenzo then its ok!
Also the Gov. must make middle class wage earners share in sacrifice & pay for a collapsed economy caused by Wall St. while the wealthy are spared this burden of sacrifice. Maybe Unions would be more willing to go along with these reforms if the millionaire tax was brought back. Whats fair is fair.