NJ Spotlight: Christie Touts Sweeney's 'Courage' in Signing Pension and Health Benefits Overhaul

This story was writted by Mark J. Magyar, for NJ Spotlight.

Declaring that New Jersey is now "a model for America," Gov. Chris Christie yesterday triumphantly  that has split the Democratic Party, revived accusations of boss politics, and made New Jersey the fourth state this year to strip public employees of collective bargaining rights.

Christie handed the first pen he used to sign the bill to Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), whom he praised for his bipartisanship and "political courage" for joining with the GOP to pass legislation that two-thirds of his own Democratic Party members in the legislature virulently opposed. Christie also lauded Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex), who could not make the ceremony, for the same reason.

The governor asserted that the legislation would restore the solvency of the pension system and save the state $132 billion over the next 30 years -- although that figure is contingent upon the $75 billion in savings from the elimination of cost-of-living adjustments for current and future retirees that has already been challenged in court.

That challenge brings home an inconvenient truth: Despite the trappings of victory, the battle over pension and healthcare benefits legislation does not mark the end of what promises to be a long war between Christie and the public employee unions. The police unions have already said they are filing suit to block the new law. The governor and the unions that represent state employees are heading back to the bargaining table with Christie talking about pay cuts. And the unions are still deciding whose seats to target in the upcoming November elections, when all 120 seats in the state legislature are at stake.

Continued Criticism

Sweeney and a contingent of urban mayors were the lone Democrats to attend the invitation-only event held aptly at Trenton’s War Memorial, but Democratic and union critics were not silent.

"Governor Christie’s union busting bill signing today represents a dark day for New Jersey," said Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Cryan (D-Union), who has emerged as the most vocal Democratic critic not only of the bill but also of the South Jersey and Essex Democratic power brokers who marshaled votes for it. "Today, the majority of Democrats in the General Assembly are forced to sit idly by, again, while the governor reaps the benefits of his divide and conquer strategy to achieve national prominence at the expense of New Jersey’s residents."

Continue reading this story at NJ Spotlight.

Mark J. Magyar teaches labor studies at Rutgers University and is a regular contributor to New Jersey Spotlight. A veteran Statehouse reporter, he served as deputy policy chief for Governor Whitman and as policy director for the independent Daggett for Governor campaign in 2009.

Original post: Christie Touts Sweeney's "Courage" in Signing Pension and Health Benefits Overhaul,June 29, 2011.