Your vote could help retired
cops living in poverty
The past several months I
have been reading with interest the arguments going back
and forth between our legislators and governor concerning
the minimum wage and
whether or not to increase it.
JIM
Democrats are pushing for
TOMA
an increase; most Republicans
also say “yes,” but either not to
the levels Dems are proposing, not as
quickly as is proposed, and some
just say “I don’t know, whatever Christie tells me to do, I’ll
do.”
(Whatever your personal opinion is about
increasing the low
minimum wage in
one of the most
expensive areas of the
country to live in is not
going to be my primary
point in this conversation.)
What I naively was not aware
of is that in 2013, when Christie
vetoed a minimum wage bill, the Democrats
were able to add to the ballot the question of
an increase that asked the people of New Jersey to decide the fairness of a minimum wage
hike. Most importantly, included in the proposal was, and is, an annual cost of living
increase based on the Consumer Price Index
(CPI). The question passed overwhelmingly,
and an initial increase of $1 was immediately
put into effect, raising the hourly rate to $8.25.
In addition, each year the federal CPI would
be evaluated and an increase in the rate would
go into effect. Since then, this has happened
twice.
The cost of living adjustments (COLA) were
a point of contention between Democrats and
Republicans, with most Republicans saying
they supported the increase in wage but were
afraid of the COLA being made a part of the
state constitution. All state Democrats in the
Senate and Assembly supported the initial
bills and the drive to put the question on the
ballot, except one senator, Jeff Van Drew of
Cape May.
24
NEW JERSEY COPS
■
OCTOBER 2016
Many argued that not only is the increase
in the wage the decent thing to do to help
these low-income workers who are living in
poverty, but also that the COLA is needed
just to keep, income somewhat level with
inflation.
When the initial increase was put into
effect, the hourly wage of $8.25 (or $17,160
per year) was evaluated by several independent organizations including the United Way
of NJ who calculated that $13.78 per hour
(or $28,662 per year) would be
needed in this state just to
meet people’s basic needs
for survival.
Do you, the citizens
and the politicians of
this state realize
there are hundreds,
if not thousands, of
our retired members
who are not only making less than the basic
needs threshold, but who
are also making less than the
current minimum wage? And
those pensions are not constitutionally tied
to the CPI, meaning no COLA. For those
who don’t believe it, go to the PFRS
website. It’s all public information. If you
can’t look it up, come to a Local 600
meeting and I’ll introduce you to some of
these members, or call and I’ll give you
their names.
Some of you who read this will say, “We are
all behind getting our COLA back, and we
feel sorry for those guys, but what can we
do?” Well, the first thing is to support the
people who support us and our just cause.
Understand who you are voting for. Make
your family and friends understand the real
facts, not the falsehoods disseminated to the
public by the media and some politicians.
We all don’t have $100,000 pensions with
“cadillac” health plans while also collecting
social security – a myth perpetuated by certain politicians to advance their agendas of
only helping their personal interests.
After all, if we don’t get the truth out, who
will? d