TRENTON — They came by the hundreds, by bus and by car, jamming the streets and crowding the sidewalks, each with a sign and a cause and a glimmer of hope that they might convince New Jersey's top political leaders to scrap a plan to make them pay more for their pension and health benefits. "You can't pit the...
TRENTON — They came by the hundreds, by bus and by car, jamming the streets and crowding the sidewalks, each with a sign and a cause and a glimmer of hope that they might convince New Jersey's top political leaders to scrap a plan to make them pay more for their pension and health benefits.
"You can't pit the public against the public employees," said Florence Detofsky, a retired teacher of 32 years from Mount Laurel, who joined a throng of union workers and public employees for a rally outside the Statehouse complex this morning. "They're supposed to give us a pension, and they're trying to whittle it down."
Inside the complex, hearings were about to get underway on a bill that would force public employees to pay more for their pensions and health benefits and push back their retirement age. The state's top lawmakers -- including Gov. Chris Christie, Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) — have agreed to the plan.
But the workers gathered here today were far from on board. Marty Doyle, a New Jersey Turnpike worker for 30 years, said the health and pension changes should be negotiated at the bargaining table. A few steps away, someone erected a makeshift coffin with a sign that read, "The Death of Collective Bargaining."
Keith Kemeny, a firefighter for 26 years in Gloucester Township, said it was unfair for leaders to change the rules of the game in the middle of people's lives. When he signed up for his job, he said, there was an understanding that he would be taken care of when the day came for him to retire.
Andrew Magree, a firefighter for 18 years in Camden, battled two blazes last night and got just a few minutes of sleep before trekking up to Trenton for the rally. He said he gave the best years of his life to the city, only to be knocked down by a bill hatched in backroom deals and not at the negotiating table.
"They're discarding me as Thursday morning trash, putting me on the curb, that's how I feel," Magee said.
The official program for the rally was delayed at least a half hour this morning because of traffic jams getting into the city. The road in front of the Statehouse complex was shut down, and most of the entrances to downtown Trenton were clogged with lines of cars and buses. Word of the congestion over the loudspeaker ignited a loud cheer from those gathered here.
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