Nearly 7,000 show up as more than 40 lawmakers take microphone to blast Christie Watch video
TRENTON — Armed with picket signs and union banners, more than 6,500 police and firefighters descended on the Statehouse Thursday with a message for Gov. Chris Christie: We are not the enemy.
The rally was the second in two weeks to draw thousands of unionized workers to the governor’s doorstep. Police and firefighters said they’ve been hamstrung by layoffs in the last year, and warned they would retaliate on election day if the government cut into their benefits and pensions outside the bargaining table.
"If they’re not with us they’re against us, and kick them out of office," said Anthony Wieners, president of the State Policemen’s Benevolents Association. "Enough is enough!"
Union leaders and Democratic lawmakers took turns blasting Christie, saying public safety workers are being unfairly blamed for problems caused by bankers and CEOs. They accused the governor of compromising the state’s safety and selling out its first responders in a bid for the White House.
"All across America, police and firefighters are being made scapegoats for mistakes made by politicians," said Ed Brannigan, president of the New Jersey Fraternal Order of Police. "But nowhere are they treated as bad as they are here in New Jersey."
Bill Lavin, the president of the state’s Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association, was one of many who drew loud cheers with fiery words. "The governor loves you when you’re dying and when you’re silent, but he hates your union because he hates your voice," he said.
No fewer than 40 Democratic lawmakers took the microphone to pledge their support for the public safety workers. Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) was not on hand, but the crowd wanted him there, too, for a different reason. They booed and chanted "We want Sweeney!" when one of the speakers mentioned his proposed legislation, which would make public workers pay more for their medical benefits.
At a press conference inside the Statehouse scheduled at the same time as the rally, Christie said the protests would have "absolutely zero" influence on his decision-making.
"They can call me whatever names they want. They can bus up here and protest all they like, too. All of those things, while well within their rights, do not change the reality of the situation," he said. Their benefits are "exorbitant," Christie said, and the pension system is on track to bankruptcy by 2020.
"I don’t think there’s any compromise to public safety right now at all," Christie added.
State Police estimated Thursday’s crowd at 6,500 to 7,000. Last Friday, an estimated 3,100 union members also took aim at Christie in an AFL-CIO rally to show support for employees of in Wisconsin, where Gov. Scott Walker has called for an end to collective bargaining.
Organizers on Thursday said they brought together the state’s major police and firefighter unions for the first time, along with union presidents from New York City, Boston and Illinois. Attendees stood in biting cold weather for over two hours, some sipping coffee or smoking cigars, and most dressed in blue.
Felix McNally, an Irvington fire captain at the rally, said he hoped Democrats took note of the large crowd.
"I think the Democrats left us," he said. "I hope Governor Christie and Senate President Steve Sweeney were listening because we’re not going away."