WyBlog

NJEA fears Chris Christie, spreads misinformation

It's no secret that the public employee unions want Jon Corzine to win re-election as governor of New Jersey. He's been very, very good to them. He's promised to continue soaking the taxpayers to fund the unions' lavish salaries, perks, and benefits. Challenger Chris Christie (up by more than 10 points in most polls) has rebuffed the unions. He is adament about controlling state spending.

Our state's largest teachers union, the NJEA, recently circulated an email sharply critical of Mr. Christie. They're scared, so they're resorting to half-truths and innuendo to fire up their rank-and-file to agitate against him.

Although the email is footnoted with "This information intended solely for NJEA members and their families" a copy was obtained by an alert WyBlog reader, who forwarded it on to me.

Christie is going to wreak havoc alright, mostly on a complacent, corrupt, bloated, and wasteful education bureaucracy and the unions which protect it. Anyone who pays taxes to support these parasites will, of course, rejoice.

It's telling that their scary headline doesn't mention education. Pensions and benefits don't translate into reading, writing, and arithmetic, unless you're a union hack with guaranteed job security via lifetime tenure.

On to their talking points:

How exactly is moving from one pension system to another "eliminating pensions"? It's not like Jon Corzine has been a great steward of the public employees' pension money. He pumped over a billion dollars into Lehman Brothers, then invested another $170 million only days before Lehman collapsed into bankruptcy. He flushed all that money down a toilet, money that could have been used to fund NJEA members' pensions. Even in the latest market meltdown most stocks didn't descend to zero.

Chris Christie wants to put each person in charge of his own pension destiny. They won't be at "the mercy of the stock market"; they'll be able to decide for themselves what type of investments are best suitable for their long-term needs and goals.

In other words, Christie wants to bring teachers health benefits into line with the plans people like you and I have. Only a gang with guaranteed lifetime employment could believe they're entitled to free (or nearly free) medical benefits too. The cost of healthcare is escalating by 15% or more each year. A system that doesn't require co-pays or deductibles is ripe for abuse. Why not see a dermatologist for a hangnail if the taxpayers are picking up the tab?

And guess what meets the definition of "part-time employee" in NJEA land? A person earning $5,000 per year. Like an elementary school basketball coach receiving an honorarium for a few nights and weekends. He gets full pension credit and free health insurance for his entire family. Does that sound fair to you?

Uh, not exactly. Christie has proposed making the results of "collective bargaining" transparent via a searchable database. Taxpayers have a right to know how their dollars are being spent. He also suggests regionalization of contracts. Current NJ law forbids school boards from neighboring towns from banding together to negotiate salaries and benefits. No such law applies to the statewide teachers union. Hence the union enjoys a powerful advantage when confronting the volunteers who serve on each town's school board. The playing field should be level. But then, the union might not get double-digit raises during a recession, eh?

Hey, whaddaya know, they got one right. And they act like it's a bad thing. A $2 billion one-shot revenue boost is not a long-term solution to our state's fiscal woes. And anyone who doesn't think there is rampant waste, fraud, and abuse in school spending hasn't met the Schools Construction Corp or seen the idiocy that passes for union demands in some urban districts. (Five hours a month of guaranteed overtime for school bus drivers so they can charge their cell phones? How stupid do the teachers unions think the citizens of Union City are?)

We're in a recession. Everyone is making do with less. Every industry is experiencing layoffs and cutbacks. Not teachers though; New Jersey hired 1200 more teachers. Not bad for a job that's 8:30 - 2:45 with summers (and beaucoup weeks throughout the year) off. If Christie really had balls he'd institute year-round school with split shifts.

The "proven value" of preschool isn't actually so cut-and-dried. Many studies have found that students who didn't attend preschool catch up to those who did by the second or third grade. The real "proven value" of preschool is in its unionized employees paying dues to the NJEA.

The union's favorite bugaboo - vouchers! Nevermind that private and charter school students blow the doors off their urban counterparts. The waiting list for Newark's charter schools is depressingly long. But instead of encouraging a system that works for the students the union is hell-bent on destroying it simply because to do otherwise would decrease their influence and political power.

It's the ultimate F-U to the schoolchildren of New Jersey. The NJEA knows what would provide them with a better education and the union chooses to prevent the children from partaking of it. They are unashamedly selfish.

Whaaa. Call the Waaambulance! Chris Christie disrespected us!

I guess it hurts when you're used to every governor since colonial times pandering to your every whim and desire. Tough. The NJEA works for us; we don't work for them. It's high time we had a governor who understands that.

Consider it done!

Posted at 15:21 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   | Trackback | Perm Link |
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