Defeat Christie’s cuts

New Jersey’s reactionary Republican governor, Chris Christie, a former federal prosecutor described by right-wing columnist George Will as “America’s most interesting governor,” is trying to destroy public education, public services and public-sector unions. While demanding that teachers take a one-year pay freeze and that teachers and local government workers pay more for health care, Christie refuses to reinstate the “millionaire’s tax,” a one-time tax surcharge in former Gov. Corzine’s budget last year for people earning over $400,000 per year. Christie says he refuses to raise taxes, but his empty rhetoric only applies to the rich.

Christie has even picked a needless battle insulting the African-American community by refusing to reappoint Justice John Wallace, the only African American sitting on the N.J. Supreme Court. Wallace, who is 68 years old, is reputed to have served honorably on the bench and would have been required to retire at the age of 70. However, Wallace did not fit in with Christie’s ideological agenda and with Christie’s stated plans to pack the court with people who think more like he does.

He has made drastic cuts in municipal aid across the state and now insists that government at all levels in the state adopt a 2.5 percent annual spending cap, dubbed “Cap 2.5.” He has warned that municipalities that don’t comply with the requirements of Cap 2.5 will face financial ruin. Since health care costs increase more than 2.5 percent each year, the implications of Cap 2.5 are not only that school teachers and public workers will never get pay raises, but even that they will receive pay cuts and layoffs. His budget includes cuts to school breakfast and lunch programs for poor children, elimination of funds for summer camp for blind children and the meals on wheels program for seniors who cannot feed themselves.

Christie has also proposed a “toolkit” with 33 proposals, all of which hurt working people, especially public school teachers, public workers and the poor. He has proposed allowing government at all levels to “opt out” of Civil Service. The significance of the “opt-out” proposal is that it would lead to the cronyism, corruption and discrimination in government service which led to the institution of Civil Service in the state in 1947. There is also a proposal to not allow appeals of suspensions of less than 30 days, rather than the five days currently allowed.

While Christie may succeed in some of his goals, these are the ones that most urgently need to be defeated.

On May 22 some 30,000 to 40,000 people, even by police estimates, demonstrated against Christie’s cuts. The previous record for a protest in New Jersey’s capital was 20,000.

Organizers of the protest knew they weren’t going to reach Christie, but hoped to install a spine into some of the Democratic legislators who have been rolling over and playing dead for Christie. Public school teachers and public workers have sent messages to the Democrats that if they don’t stand up to Christie they will have to consider independent alternatives to the Democrats. Within a day or two after the protest, Christie was interviewed and said the protest had no effect on him.

Christie has made drastic cuts in funding for school districts, leading to layoffs of teachers. When he went to visit Montclair High School, he was greeted by students who picketed him; one sign read: “Hey Christie, I’d quote Shakespeare, but my teacher was laid off.” When thousands of students walked out all over the state in late April to protest the cuts to school districts, Christie referred to them as “drug mules for teachers.” He has also called for cuts in aid for higher education. In response, college students have formed the Take Back Trenton Coalition (La Coalición para Recuperar Trenton y el Estado para el Pueblo), which includes not only college students, but also unions — SEIU, CWA, AFSCME, AFT and others.

The May 22nd demonstration was sponsored by the New Jersey Education Association, CWA, AFSCME, AFT, NJ AFL-CIO, People’s Organization for Progress, Take Back Trenton Coalition and over 60 community organizations.

There is no mandate in N.J. for Christie to make all of the changes he is proposing. Christie narrowly won because nobody liked Corzine.

The struggle has just begun.

Dave Schraeger (CWA Local 1038)