Even in a hurricane, Gov. Chris Christie and the state’s largest public employee union can find something to disagree about. After encouraging private employees to stay home today, he called on all state workers, except those who found it impossible to get to work, to show up. For many, it was a formidable challenge. Route 18 in Middlesex County...
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Gov. Chris Christie frustrated some public workers today when he called upon them to navigate closed roads and make their way to work. Even in a hurricane, Gov. Chris Christie and the state’s largest public employee union can find something to disagree about.
After encouraging private employees to stay home today, he called on all state workers, except those who found it impossible to get to work, to show up.
For many, it was a formidable challenge. Route 18 in Middlesex County was still partly submerged under the Raritan River, and on Interstate 287 in Morris County, a chunk of the shoulder gave way.
In Trenton, where most of the state offices are situated, Route 29 — adjacent to the rain-swollen Delaware River — was deluged, and the parking garage at the Statehouse was closed.
Christie had little sympathy for his fellow public employees who had to sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic for hours trying to navigate around closed roads. And when one of their union leaders complained, Christie jumped like a batter waiting for a fastball.
"When there is a crisis in this state, the people who pay our salaries expect us to be at work. I don’t think that’s a problem," Christie said at a late afternoon news conference in Manville.
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Other government agencies — faced with closed roads, widespread power failures and a lack of clean water — chose not to open. The Superior Courts were closed in Atlantic, Burlington, Bergen, Cape May, Hunterdon, Mercer, Morris, Somerset, Union and Warren counties. Both the city of Trenton and the Mercer County government were shut down.
The decision by the governor to keep the state open — everyone from tax processors to Motor Vehicle Commission employees from Paramus to Pennsville — drew the ire of Hetty Rosenstein, regional director for the Communications Workers of America, which represents most of the state’s employees.
"For people in many cases, it took hours, hours and hours to get into Trenton," Rosenstein said. "It was not safe and it didn’t make any sense that you would say to every worker except for state workers: ‘If you can stay home, stay home,’ then say but to state workers: ‘It’s important for you to be at your desk.’"
At his news conference, Christie said he asked the private employees to stay home to allow public employees to get to work more easily.
"Folks sat in traffic this morning, my apologies," Christie said sarcastically. "Toughen up and get to work."
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