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If we were allowed to SPEND our gross, it would be good. A 3% raise means more federal and state income taxes.
It also is higher dues amounts for Carolyn Wade since they are based on the gross. To the rest of us, we live on the
NET wages. a 4% raise in the first year would have made this a LITTLE more acceptable!
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2) 1% net raise in 1st year |
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A LIE. Once you take out for extra income taxes, plus the 2% deductions for health care and pension, plus the LEAP
YEAR variable, many members had LESS cash in pocket than before the contract was implemented. And in January,
as we predicted, when TDI and UIC deductions resumed, members ended up with a a $20 - $35 LOSS of bi-weekly take-home
pay!!!
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3) Pay 1.5% pre-tax for healthcare |
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We were told the state was broke and we were the last state to have free health care and that was why we had to help
pay for our health care. The state was FAR from broke ($1.9 BILLION surplus rolled over this year) and racing to the
basement has never been the way unions negotiate contracts. Meanwhile, NJEA made sure they maintained free healthcare
for their retirees!
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4) New Healthcare with in-network doctors and hospitals in every state, no referrals. |
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The bid that was sent out for the health care contract did NOT specify the "every state" part, so we knew it would
be unlikely. Of course, we were also told that the new plan would be up and running as of January 1 2008. Another
leadership "miscalculation" that will likely be blamed on somebody else. In reality, the new plans begin on April 1st
and the NJ Direct 15 does not have nationwide coverage, unless you include them paying 70%
after you meet your deductibles for out-of-network care ($2,000 per individual and $5,000 per family)!
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5) $40 for mail-in brand name Rx if generic available |
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Extra OUT-OF-POCKET expenses that the leadership conveniently leaves out of the calculations of what your NET pay will
look like.
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6) $40 waived if your Dr. writes Brand Medically Necessary on Rx form. |
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A LIE! You must call the mail-in service, get a special phone number, give that phone number to your prescribing
doctor, he/she must call the number and explain why you need the brand name, they will then send a form to be filled out by
the doctor who must then send it back and the mail-in service's medical team will look at it and determine if they will waive
the extra fee.
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7) Disciplinary appeal improvements (OWR) |
Official Reprimands can now be appealed and arbitrated. |
It's About Time! Discipline is discipline. If it is going to stay in your record forever, then you ought
to have the ability to appeal it to a neutral party in order to get a fair hearing of the matter.
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8) Grievance appeal improved timelines. |
Language has been added that shortens the time periods for decisions and appeals. |
This can go either way. It DOES shorten the grievance process time; however, it also works against the member who
might be a little busy and now will miss their right to appeal because they missed the shortened deadline.
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9) Holiday Leave intact - no take backs of any kind of leave time. |
The 13 Paid Holidays are contractually listed. |
The Governor announced in the very beginning of negotiations that we would no longer get the day after Thanksgiving as
a day off, negotiations should have occurred on the matter during these negotiations to ensure that we would get it off, if
that is what everyone wanted. Leadership dropped the ball here. And our 13 paid Holidays dwindled to 12 as of
2010... even before the new law that takes away Lincoln's Birthday as a holiday beginning in 2012 was to go into effect!
This is called a backdoor give back!
How many more years do you want to trust your future in the hands of someone
who has lost touch with the members?
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10) Workers can grieve the "essential" designation
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Similar language, except that the Union, not the member, can challenge.
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This issue is a left over from the last contract that Carolyn Wade never forced the state to own up to! The essential
designation was supposed to be resolved by the first year of the LAST contract (2004). 4 years later and we STILL
are arguing this mess? We were asked to vote on a contract that wasn't finished last time AND this time. Both
times we got burned. When will we learn?
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It WOULD be a (+) if it ever really occurred!
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11) $1 Billion Pension payment by the State was made a contractual matter to give it more teeth.
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Similar language
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The laws of the State of New Jersey require the state to pay into the pension fund. Laws SUPERCEDE the contract.
There is nothing stronger than the law. If the Government fails to live up to its STATUTORY obligations, there are legal
remedies that should have been employed 16 YEARS AGO and every year since then! Instead, we add it to our contract
AND force our members to pay an extra .5% to replace the money that was stolen from our pension fund by politicians for the
benefit of the tax payers of New Jersey ( who hate us even as they enjoy our money)! oh, and by the way, the fund NEVER
SAW THAT $1 Billion. So exactly who has the teeth? The Governor put in less than 10% of the state's BASE share,
and less than 3% of the scheduled arrears payment and annual obligation. NONE of the money came from taxpayers!
It was taken from other Pension funds!
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Could have been
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if there really had been enforccement
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12) Maximum Discipline is now 45 days suspension instead of 6 months
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Similar language
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Would be great if management wasn't given the right to dig back a full year instead of the 45 day limitation to find
something on someone they are targetting .
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(+) ... Mostly
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13) We will not settle for a 2-tier pension system
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A 2-tier pension system is outlined in detail.
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We all heard Carolyn Wade promising that we would not allow a two tiered pension system because it would drain the money
from the system and cause it to collapse... and yet, now she's telling us it's a great deal. Try telling that to your
daughter or son. "Yes son, I made a great deal today. I made sure I was taken care of in retirement. You
on the other hand will need to figure something out for yourself." Our parents gave us MORE than what they had... is
our legacy to our children really going to be LESS?
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14) This contract provides 20% more cash in pocket than the last contract and has no wage freeze for the first time in
15 years.
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The last contract gave us 11.5% raises, even with a wage freeze in the first year. This contract gives us 12% MINUS
2% for health care and pension... PLUS, we DID take a 2 year wage freeze after we reopened the contract and signed the MOA!
The end result is we got an 11.25% raise, minus the 2%... GREAT DEAL, HUH?
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Sounds like fuzzy math to me. 11.25% (adjusting for the MOA wage freeze) MINUS 2% = 9.25% on my calculator...and
the last time I checked, 11.5% was a lot more than 9.25%. Also, you can add the step raises in there, but then do it
to both last contract and this contract. Don't forget that in the last contract, we got an extra step for all....that's
an extra 4% step ON TOP of the 4% routine steps. That makes that old contract ALOT more in terms of CASH-IN-POCKET!
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15) CURIOUSLY SILENT
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Mangement reserves the right to impose disciplinary action for up to one year from the date of occurrence.
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Disciplinary action can now be taken up to ONE YEAR after the incident after we worked so hard in the last contract to
get it down to a 45 day time limit. No wonder Carolyn Wade was silent on this issue! This puts our shop stewards
and union supporters in jeopardy in places where we have an unethical manager. If a manager can't figure out that something
you have done deserves disciplinary action within 45 days, will giving them a year to figure it out help them?
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16) Bragged about saving our pensions, keeping everything exactly the same for all ACTIVE members.
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CURIOUSLY SILENT
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When the Union made their deal with the devil to change our pension system, embedded in the law was a provision to increase
the cost of pension loans. Where they used to be just 4% to borrow our own money, now, the rate will be based on an
average of 5 year Treasury Notes plus 75 basis points. For 2008, the rate will be 4.89%. This also includes a
processing fee of $8 for each loan. We call that LEADERSHIP?
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We made sure that the new PPO would be EQUAL OR BETTER than the current plans and the UNION set the standard for what
is to be offered.
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Changes to benefits must be equal or better.
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The State Health Benefits Commission adopted the recommendations of their Final Evaluation Committee. Horizon
will have the PPO contract and over 16% of our members whose doctors currently participate in NJ Plus or the Traditional Plan
will have to find new doctors because they do not participate in the new plan. The same is true for the two new HMO
providers, Aetna and CIGNA have about a 9% Disruption factor. Last time I looked at my kid's Elementary School math
book, equal meant the EXACTLY THE SAME, not 9% or 16% less. Equal is Equal. Another LIE!
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