The following is a letter to the editor written by William J. Elliott, a CWA shop steward from Local 1037 and a state worker. It appeared in the Newark Star Ledger on July 22 (scroll down approximately half way down the page).
The objective of Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed civil service reform does not constitute reform in the logical sense.
The action was in North Jersey last Thursday, as CWA members had meetings with Senators Theresa Ruiz (D-Newark) and Robert Gordon (D-Fair Lawn). State and local government workers met with the Senators to discuss concerns about an anti-worker package of legislation currently being considered in Trenton, called the “Toolkit.”
On May 10, Governor Christie unleashed a series of proposals to attack public sector unions in New Jersey, which he called his “Toolkit” for reform. There are 33 proposals in the package.
A dozen activists from CWA Local 1036 joined Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein in Hamilton on Saturday, as the group volunteered their time to help Greenstein get elected to the State Senate this fall.
Greenstein is running in a special election to fill the seat vacated by long-time CWA friend Bill Baroni (R-Hamilton), who was appointed earlier this year to serve as the Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Mike Justiniano, a Vice President at the Local, was one of those who came. Watch him below:
