TRENTON — New Jersey’s largest state employees union has filed unfair labor charges against Gov. Chris Christie, contending he has repeatedly refused to negotiate health benefits during contract talks. In an eight-page complaint filed Thursday with the Public Employee Relations Commission, the Communications Workers of America says Christie has failed to counter its health benefit offer in four negotiating...
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie appears at a Statehouse news conference in October. TRENTON — New Jersey’s largest state employees union has filed unfair labor charges against Gov. Chris Christie, contending he has repeatedly refused to negotiate health benefits during contract talks.
In an eight-page complaint filed Thursday with the Public Employee Relations Commission, the Communications Workers of America says Christie has failed to counter its health benefit offer in four negotiating sessions since March 11, the first day the two sides began talking on a new contract.
"The Christie administration’s refusal to negotiate health care and to respond to CWA’s proposal violates the state’s obligation to negotiate in good faith over terms and conditions of employment, including health benefits," the complaint says.
The union is asking the commission to order Christie to negotiate health benefits. Its decision can be appealed in state court. Current contracts expire at the end of June.
"We continue to just try to do everything we possibly can to persuade ‘Governor I-Love-Collective-Bargaining’ to just do so," said Hetty Rosenstein, area director for CWA, which represents about 40,000 state workers.
Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts today called the complaint "baseless."
"This is just another episode of the same public relations circus that CWA and Hetty Rosenstein have continued to engage in," Roberts said. "One can only conclude that they are frustrated with having to negotiate with an administration that is finally standing up for taxpayers for once."
Instead of using the negotiating table, Christie wants lawmakers to enact sweeping changes to medical benefits, such as increased contributions and expanded insurance options.
He and Senate President Stephen Sweeney are in talks over the issue.
The Star-Ledger reported this week that Sweeney (D-Gloucester) plans to combine the changes to medical benefits with an overhaul of the pension system in one bill and hopes to have it voted on before Memorial Day. Facing slim Democratic support, he has lined up a group of Democratic senators who have said they would be willing to join with Republicans to ensure there are enough votes. Assembly Speaker Shelia Oliver (D-Essex) has not said what she would do.
The last time Christie and the CWA went before PERC was in a dispute over whether Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, was a state holiday.
In an agreement arranged by former Gov. Jon Corzine, state employees agreed to work Columbus Day in exchange for having that day off.
Christie deemed that agreement moot and announced Black Friday would be a work day. CWA sought a decision by PERC, which ruled the agreement was still in place and gave workers the day off. Christie opted not to fight the decision in court.
P. Kelly Hatfield, a Christie appointee who chairs the commission, later dismissed longtime PERC counsel Ira Mintz, who sided with the unions in the dispute over Black Friday. Mintz, a nationally-recognized labor attorney, said he was dismissed because he was a "hurdle" for the administration, a contention the governor’s office disputed.
By Jarrett Renshaw and Ginger Gibson/Statehouse bureau