The American Spectator

Although Gov. Chris Christie has earned national attention for adopting a tough stance against the demands of the union leaders, particularly those who are attached to the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), the state faces steep climb back in the direction of fiscal discipline. Today, my astute and resourceful colleague F. Vincent Vernuccio, a labor policy counsel with the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is set to unveil a new report we co-authored about union power in the Garden State. Steve Lonegan, the state director of Americans for Prosperity (AFP), who commissioned the report, will also take part in today’s press conference in Trenton.

Up until recently, union bosses have cowed both major political parties into accepting their demands. But with the state in the midst of financial crisis the public has become attuned to lavish collective bargaining agreements and public employee perks that are not typically available in the private sector. We also call attention to the continued perfidy of the New Jersey Supreme Court, which has injected itself into tax and spending questions that property belong within the purview of the state legislature. That’s a whole story unto itself, which I have previously covered for the American Spectator. 

Vernuccio’s new WorkplaceChoice.org site ranks New Jersey near the bottom of its Big Labor versus Taxpayers Index. That’s why so many families continue to leave the state, but the good news is that serious reform efforts have traction like they never have before. Stay tuned.