While Wisconsin has generated the most headlines, other states are struggling with the future role of public-sector unions, as documented in a brief article in the latest Bloomberg Businessweek.
Sure, you?ll read what Republicans Scott Walker, John Kasich, and Mitch Daniels are up to, but you?ll also read that California?s Jerry Brown and New York?s Andrew Cuomo are also calling for changes that would affect government workers.
And here?s what the article says about New Jersey?s Chris Christie:
Christie is no stranger to clashes with organized labor, having picked a fight with the state teachers’ union over wages and benefits soon after taking office in January 2010. In his quest to cut costs, New Jersey’s governor, a Republican, has effectively pitted neighbor against neighbor. His Feb. 23 budget calls for state workers to shoulder 30 percent of health-care premiums by 2014, compared with 8 percent now. If Democrats in the state’s legislature don’t approve the measure, the governor says he will hold up $190 million in scheduled homeowner tax credits. Public sector workers are getting the message that it is time to punch out?for good: More than 20,000 filed for retirement in 2010, a 60 percent jump from the previous year.
