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'State offers teachers a break on benefits contributions if they accept pay freeze' Press of Atlantic City
"...For any contract negotiated before May 22, employees will not have to pay 1.5 percent medical...For any current contract for which a one-year extension with no salary increases for 2010-11 has been granted, employees will not have to pay 1.5 percent medical...For any new contract negotiated after May 22, employees will have to pay 1.5 percent medical..."
'N.J. teachers who revise contracts get break on benefits fee, state memo says' Star Ledger continuous news desk
"...New Jersey public school teachers who accept revised contracts by May 22 don't have to contribute 1.5 percent of their pay for health benefits for the 2010-11 school year, giving school staff an incentive to take a wage freeze or smaller raises..."
'N.J. teachers union is skeptical of Gov. Christie's letters on wage freeze' By Statehouse Bureau Staff
"...Twice in the past eight days, Christie has written to Barbara Keshishian, president of the New Jersey Education Association, to encourage her to endorse his proposal that teachers accept one-year wage freezes.
But Steve Baker, a spokesman for the NJEA, was skeptical. He said the organization was rebuffed when it invited the governor to meet with its leaders shortly after Christie was elected in November..."If it was a genuine attempt to reach out to the NJEA, he would have made an attempt to reach out and have a discussion, not just send out a letter he released to the press," Baker said...
We are waiting for a sign, a smoke signal, any indication at all, that the NJEA, as an organization, will break with its iron-fisted refusal to move beyond its self-interest to that of the public interest," Drewniak(Governor's spokesman) said. "The atmosphere will change when that happens."
State offers teachers a break on benefits contributions if they accept pay freeze
Teachers who have new contracts by May 22 will not have to contribute 1.5 percent of their pay toward their health benefits, at least for the 2010-11 school year, a memo the state Department of Education sent to school district administrators last week states.
The issue provides a new incentive to school staff to take a wage freeze or smaller raises. But details of how the new 1.5 percent payroll deduction will affect contracts are still being developed, and districts and teachers are approaching the issue cautiously.
On March 23, Gov. Chris Christie signed into law Bill S3, requiring all school district employees to pay 1.5 percent of their base salaries toward the cost of health benefits. The law takes effect 60 days after the signing and applies to all new union contracts.
The DOE provided the following information Wednesday:
- For any contract negotiated before May 22, employees will not have to pay 1.5 percent medical.
- For any current contract for which a one-year extension with no salary increases for 2010-11 has been granted, employees will not have to pay 1.5 percent medical.
- For any new contract negotiated after May 22, employees will have to pay 1.5 percent medical.
Hamilton Township superintendent Michelle Cappelluti said the union has a copy of the memo, and she believes the school board would be willing to meet on the issue, even though the district has gone to mediation and has a fact-finding session scheduled in April.
Hamilton Township Education Association President Diane Brunetti could not be reached Wednesday but said at Tuesday’s school board meeting that the union would consider the one-year wage freeze if the money saved would be used to save jobs in the district.
Teachers in Lower Township, Cape May County, already approved a new three-year contract, that does include the 1.5 percent medical payment. Superintendent Joseph Cirrinicione said the new contract calls for a two-percent net increase to employees each year, based on a 3.5 percent salary increase with a 1.5 percent reduction for the health benefit payment.
The contract in Maurice River Township expired in June 2008. Teachers union president Ray Hocker said saving the 1.5 percent would be an incentive for his members, but he is not sure an agreement can be reached in time.
Contact Diane D'Amico: 609-272-7241 DDamico@pressofac.com
N.J. teachers who revise contracts get break on benefits fee, state memo says
By The Star-Ledger Continuous News Desk
April 01, 2010, 6:12AM
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New Jersey public school teachers who accept revised contracts by May 22 don't have to contribute 1.5 percent of their pay for health benefits for the 2010-11 school year, giving school staff an incentive to take a wage freeze or smaller raises, a report in the Press of Atlantic City said.
The state Department of Education sent school districts a memo outlining the rule in hopes of getting teachers to freeze wages, especially since about 70 districts are currently working under expired contracts, which is higher than usual, according to the report. On March 23, Gov. Chris Christie signed into law broad changes to pensions and benefits offered to public workers that required all school district employees to pay 1.5 percent of their base salaries toward the cost of health benefits.
N.J. teachers union is skeptical of Gov. Christie's letters on wage freeze
March 31, 2010,
TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie has publicly called leaders of the state’s largest teachers union "the bullies of State Street" and "crass union bosses." But a bit less vocally, he’s been trying out a new tactic.
Politeness.
Twice in the past eight days, Christie has written to Barbara Keshishian, president of the New Jersey Education Association, to encourage her to endorse his proposal that teachers accept one-year wage freezes.
"I know it is not easy to negotiate even a one-year salary freeze," Christie wrote in a letter today, which was also addressed to Marie Bilik, executive director of the New Jersey School Boards Association and sent out as a press release. "And while it is not an easy choice, it is the choice that puts New Jersey’s children first."
But Steve Baker, a spokesman for the NJEA, was skeptical. He said the organization was rebuffed when it invited the governor to meet with its leaders shortly after Christie was elected in November.
Baker said he did not sense a conciliatory tone in the governor’s letter.
"If it was a genuine attempt to reach out to the NJEA, he would have made an attempt to reach out and have a discussion, not just send out a letter he released to the press," Baker said.
Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said he was not aware of the governor reaching out to any unions before last week’s first letter to the NJEA.
Public worker unions have said they have been shut out by a governor who won’t give them a seat at the table to discuss issues, despite numerous requests for meetings.
The NJEA has returned the governor’s salvos with advertisements saying he supports millionaires over public schools. In one ad, a teacher asks Christie to "please stop hurting" public schools.
We are waiting for a sign, a smoke signal, any indication at all, that the NJEA, as an organization, will break with its iron-fisted refusal to move beyond its self-interest to that of the public interest," Drewniak said. "The atmosphere will change when that happens."
Christie has proposed giving money to school districts in which local unions accept pay freezes. Those funds would come from savings on certain federal payroll taxes, which the state pays on behalf of the districts. For example, a district that saves $1 million in raises for fiscal year 2011 could receive 7.65 percent of that sum, or $76,500, from the state.
The state has paid districts’ portions of employer payroll taxes and pensions since the mid-1950s, when state aid provided a very small share of public school revenue, school boards association spokesman Frank Belluscio said.
By Matt Friedman and Lisa Fleisher/Statehouse Bureau
