TRENTON — Democratic leaders edged closer to a deal with Gov. Chris Christie on pension and health benefit reform today, as Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver said she may be open to changing public workers’ health benefits through legislation if the governor gives up more ground on his own proposal. "I need to get him to budge a little more...
Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (left) and Senate President Stephen Sweeney pictured in this file photo with Gov. Christie. Lawmakers are edging towards a deal over health benefits and pension reform for public workers.TRENTON — Democratic leaders edged closer to a deal with Gov. Chris Christie on pension and health benefit reform today, as Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver said she may be open to changing public workers’ health benefits through legislation if the governor gives up more ground on his own proposal.
"I need to get him to budge a little more and I may have a product," Oliver (D-Essex) told reporters today.
Oliver’s comments came after the first of two Statehouse meetings today with Gov. Chris Christie and Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), and just hours before hundreds of public workers rallied next door with Rev. Jesse Jackson to protest what they called a nationwide assault on collective bargaining rights. The Democrats also met with Christie on Friday.
New Jersey public unions have panned separate proposals by Sweeney and Christie to make workers pay more for health benefits as an attack on collective bargaining rights. They say the benefits should be decided at the negotiating table.
The Star-Ledger reported last month that Sweeney is prepared to push through his health care plan with a small minority of Democrats to pass it along with most or all Republicans.
Oliver, whose caucus is more supportive of the public unions, has been less willing to go along with the plan although she has not firmly indicated her intentions. On Tuesday, she said she would not move legislation on health benefits without the support of a significant number of Assembly Democrats.
She told The Associated Press today that Christie no longer insisted on his original proposal that all workers pay 30 percent of their health care premiums, regardless of income, and that if he gives in further Assembly Democrats may be willing to compromise. Workers now pay 1.5 percent of their salaries towards health care.
Pressed for details later, Oliver declined to elaborate. "My lips are sealed," she said.
Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts would not comment "except to say that Governor Christie continues to work with the Senate President and Assembly Speaker to move reforms forward for the people of New Jersey." Sweeney declined to comment today.
A few hours after the meetings, several hundred public workers gathered at the Trenton War Memorial to express their support for collective bargaining. "We have never lost a battle that we fought and never won the battle unless we fought," said Jackson.
Bob Master, political director for the Communications Workers of America, said the union was "extremely troubled" by Oliver’s comments. "We have said all along that health care is appropriately dealt with at the bargaining table, and not through unilateral acts by the Legislature. So we are very concerned about the direction of the Assembly," he said.
Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), the Democratic state chairman, was at the rally, and cautioned not to read "a tremendous amount" into Oliver’s remarks. "I think the Speaker is just looking to see if the governor has any interest in a compromise position or if he’s just taking his usual my way or the highway approach," he said.
Matt Friedman and Christopher Baxter/Statehouse Bureau
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Previous Coverage:
• • More lawmakers opposed to forcing N.J. workers to pay more for health benefits through legislation
• Gov. Christie seeks to change health benefits of state workers through collective bargaining
• Gov. Christie, state employees union begin bargaining over health benefits
• N.J. Gov. Christie, public workers union fight over changes in employee health benefits
• Christie, unions spar over history of skipping collective bargaining to change health benefits