TRENTON, N.J. – Governor Phil Murphy did his closest public sector union allies a major solid on Tuesday, agreeing to a furlough deal with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) which avoids large-scale layoffs at least in the near term.
Republican Senate budget committee members say it’s far too little and too late.
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For starters, over 30,000 employees will still receive automatic raises.
“Waiting three months into this crisis to look for salary savings has been administrative negligence as employees who haven’t had to report for work that whole time have still been receiving full pay plus 4 percent step increases,” said state Senator Steven Oroho (R-24) in statement alongside those of three other GOP colleagues. “The deal with the CWA fails to acknowledge that these employees will continue to get 4 percent pay increases even as the State is faced with a stark fiscal reality. Not accepting the extra 2 percent COLA doesn’t equate to a sacrifice, it’s simply passing on dessert.”
The Murphy Administration says it’s planning for $10 billion less in revenue through June 30, 2021 than it originally expected; rather than cut $10 billion, the Administration to date has come up with only $1.3 billion in in spending cut to be supplemented by $5 billion in unconstitutional borrowing.
The Governor has repeatedly insisted he needs a federal bailout to save public sector jobs.
Meanwhile, in the private sector, New Jersey unemployment surpassed the 15% threshhold in April 2020. Many observers fear a significant percentage of the jobs destroyed aren’t coming back unlike the CWA’s protected positions.
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