Dedicated to Corrections Officers, Policemen, & Firemen throughout the Garden State
As reported by nj.com, citing rampant crime and Mayor Tony Mack’s federal indictment on corruption charges, the State Policemen’s Benevolent Association President became the latest official to demand Mack step down from office.
PBA President Anthony Wieners said Trenton and its layoff-depleted police force need help immediately. “The recent wave of violence in Trenton …
As reported by JSOnline.com on August 7, 2013, Corrections officers in Wisconsin sued the State this week alleging they are owed millions of dollars in back pay because of a 2012 policy that prevents them from being compensated for perhaps five minutes of work a day.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Dane County Circuit Court, …
As reported in NJ.Com, on Tuesday, July 30, 2013, Jersey City Mayor, Steve Fulop, announced today that he was initiating four major consolidation measures "to cut costs and streamline services within municipal government." The leading measure to cut costs is the merger of the Police and Fire Departments.
The ordinance would put the Fire and …
As reported on New Jersey State Senator Tom Kean’s website, Senator Kean appears to be pushing the Christie agenda of Civil Service reform and Public Employee Pension reform.
In a press release dated July 26, 2013, Kean stated: “I’m glad that Senate Democrats have finally decided to show up to work in Trenton this …
Most recently, in performing an assignment for one of the labor unions that we represent, we came across the following Grievance Arbitration Decision from the State of Florida. The case analyzes some very important “portal to portal” and “shift overlap” issues in the field of Corrections and should be reviewed by Union Locals to determine if…
As reported in NJ.com on July 22, 2013, the Bergen County Prosecutors Office refused to reimburse the towns of Park Ridge, Montvale and Woodcliff Lake, for the cost of a police consolidation study which the Borough of Montvale rejected.
The study, which cost $49,000.00, stated that the three boroughs would save $1 million dollars by…
As reported by nj.com, seven municipalities in Camden County have made a request for proposals looking into the possibility of consolidating the management of their respective police departments. The municipalities, Audubon, Collingswood, Haddonfield, Haddon Heights, Haddon Township, Mount Ephraim, and Oaklyn, all independently authorized the RFPs, stating they are open to the idea of …
As reported by nj.com on July 1, 2013, the State of New Jersey revenue collections out paced Governor Christie’s administrations projections for the sixth consecutive month in May, according to state treasury figures, which were released that day. The strong revenue figures received a boost from better than expected income and sales tax collections, which account for more than half of the State’s overall revenue collections. The State’s Chief Economist, Charles Steindel, stated “the report reflects ongoing improvement in economic conditions of State residents,” “income tax collections continue to grow rapidly even after the receipt of large final payments in April.” Overall, income tax collections are up 13% in New Jersey this year and revenues from sales tax is up 3%.
In the past strong revenue collections by the State of New Jersey would be good news for New Jersey Public Employment law enforcement labor unions as it would demonstrate the State’s “ability to pay” when arguing for a pay raise that could be collectively bargained for. The ability to pay is one of the nine (9) criteria cited in the New Jersey Employer/Employee Relations Act that must be taken into consideration by arbitrators in rendering an interest arbitration award. However, in 2010, the New Jersey State Legislature enacted new laws regarding how the interest arbitration processes is to be conducted in the State of New Jersey. The Legislature passed these modifying laws on or about December 13, 2010 and the same became effective on January 1, 2011.
In simple terms, the legislation, which amended various provisions of NJSA 34:13A-16, et. seq., revised the procedure for police and fire contract disputes and imposed a cap on certain interest arbitration awards. According to the statement accompanying the bill, the legislation is supposed to streamline the procedure for resolving contractual impasses between public employers and their police and fire departments and imposes a 2% cap on arbitration awards under certain circumstances. The statue establishing the 2% cap reads as follows:
As reported by nj.com, the Civil Service System governs how thousands of public employees in New Jersey are hired, promoted, and fired. Currently, employees receive jobs and move up based on examinations. But under the proposed changes, to be voted on by the State Civil Service Commission, some jobs would be grouped together as part …
As reported by nj.com, the State’s top legislative budget officer will tell lawmakers that Governor Chris Christie’s revenue figures for the next 13 months will fall short by nearly $1 billion. The gap may be shorter if Christie revises his revenue projections downward, an unlikely move as the Governor spent the last week boasting …
