The Atlantic City power grab:
A union-busting Trojan Horse?
The Trojan Horse is a well-known tale about the
trickery used by the Greeks to enter the fortress protecting the City of Troy and win the Trojan War. In
modern times, “Trojan Horse” also represents a
malicious virus that tricks computer users into willingly running a destructive computer program.
This Trojan Horse deception came to mind when
thinking
about the proposal Gov. Christie supports
Marc
Kovar for a state takeover of Atlantic City. We shouldn’t be
fooled. The NJ State PBA needs to be concerned
Executive
Vice-President about any proposals that include altering collective
bargaining agreements and other union-busting initiatives.
Look no further than Camden County and the creation of a
regionalized police force, known as Camden Metro. Camden’s
failure has been at the expense of law enforcement officers. In 2013,
168 law enforcement officers were laid off in the city of Camden and
crime rose. When the remaining law enforcement officers would
not negotiate severe cuts in their existing contract, local leaders
went to the state for approval to disband the department.
This union-busting effort was led by the governor. The end result
was a deal to lay off every remaining Camden law enforcement officer, transfer policing from the city to the county and allow for the
use of tens of millions of dollars in state funds to pay for the new
force. The Camden police chief kept his job and received a $67,000
pay raise after supporting the state’s plan.
The NJSPBA has asked for, but to date no one has provided, a calculation of the real cost to run Camden Metro. The incalculable
funding doesn’t take into consideration the department’s terrible
morale and frightening attrition rates. The facts bear that the state
takeover in Camden and the creation of a regional police agency is
a failure.
Now Gov. Christie is at it again, this time in Atlantic City. The governor has provided little details about the plan for Atlantic City and
hasn’t been interested in sharing information with, or seeking feedback from, our brothers and sisters in Atlantic City Local 24. The latest plan calls for the state to restructure Atlantic City’s debt and
allow for the termination of municipal contracts and collective bar-
gaining agreements with labor unions, including the Atlantic City
PBA.
In the meantime, Local 24 has been an honest partner with
Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian in trying the get the city moving
in the right direction. In fact, State PBA President Pat Colligan and
I joined with representatives from the Atlantic City PBA and Mayor
Guardian on at least four different occasions in an effort to help the
city during this difficult economic time.
The Atlantic City PBA has already made multiple concessions to
help alleviate the pressure on the city. If this state takeover proposal
turns into another union-busting maneuver, however, the NJSPBA
needs to rally against it. We cannot risk another isolated attack to
collective bargaining similar to Chapter 78, the state’s pension and
benefit reform.
While a majority of officials throughout Atlantic County stand
against a regionalized police force, including the Atlantic City chief
of police, this potential threat to collective bargaining should not be
ignored.
So far, the biggest support for including law enforcement, firefighters and other public workers in the debate comes from the NJ
State Assembly. Assembly Speaker Vinny Prieto released a
statement raising concerns about the proposal for Atlantic City and
its impact on collective bargaining, which read:
“I will review any proposal to help Atlantic City, but I will be especially concerned about any effort to unilaterally alter collective bargaining agreements. We didn’t hear many specifics today from Gov.
Christie or Senate President Sweeney about such things as altering
collective bargaining, but that’s something that would certainly raise
questions on my end. The fact is that no one speaks for the Assembly
except for the Assembly. If the Assembly is not involved, then there is
no agreement.”
President Pat Colligan and I remain in constant communication
with Speaker Prieto. In my opinion, Speaker Prieto should be
praised for his fight on behalf of law enforcement officers and other
public employees. While it is my hope that the list of politicians with
the courage to standup for hard-working law enforcement officers
continues to grow, it will continue to take a lot of effort to develop
strong allies in our fight for fairness. d
WELCOME NEW STATE DELEGATES
The following new State Delegates were
sworn in at the January 2016 NJ State PBA
meeting at Pines Manor in Edison:
Kevin Van Dyke, Western Bergen County
Local 79; Ryan A. Hurley, Howell Township
Local 228; Christian R. Clavo, Haledon Local
349; Christopher Laver,
Hackettstown/Mansfield Local 369; Gary
Ulmer, Bound Brook Local 380; Tom Burke,
County Regional SPCA Local 394; Bryan
Macartney, Branchburg Local 397.
www.njcopsmagazine.com
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FEBRUARY 2016
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