by Sarah MulhollandLisa Pham
August 1, 2015 — 3:35 PM EDTUpdated on August 2, 2015 — 12:56 AM EDT
Verizon Communications Inc. said employees will continue to work as negotiations continue between unions and the second-largest U.S. telephone company on an agreement on benefits.
Contracts with the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers expired Saturday night at midnight New York time, the company said in a statement.
The telecommunications giant is pushing back against union demands such as increasing tuition assistance and eliminating employee health-insurance contributions, which were instituted for the first time in the 2012 contract. Verizon’s initial offer in June included a 2 percent wage increase in each of the first two years of the three-year contract, plus a lump-sum payment in the final year.
“The company has barely moved off its initial June 22nd proposal,” Ed Mooney, a vice president for Communications Workers of America, said in a separate statement.
Nobel Prize winning economists aren’t the hyperbolic type. They usually speak in measured tones, careful to protect the precision of their academic viewpoints. Two of them have spoken openly about public pensions, including one about Illinois pensions. They are uncharacteristically harsh.
First, there’s William F. Sharpe, a Stanford professor who won 1990 Nobel Prize for Economics for his work in developing models to aid investment decisions. The Financial Analysts Journal interviewed him last year. Here’s what he said:
Is this a disaster? You bet…. It’s a crisis of epic proportions…. [Pensions] value liabilities at 7.5% or 8% on the grounds that they are pretty sure they’ll earn that in the long run. This is crazy. It gets even worse. Because they want to minimize the reported value of the liabilities, they want to use a high discount rate, and in order to justify it, they have to build really risky portfolios. Consequently, they believe that one of the great hings to do is put money in private equity, or maybe a hedge fund, because then they can assume an extra 300 or 400 bps of expected return for an iliquidity premium (or just because hedge fund managers are so smart). So, the tail wags the dog.
Idiotic accounting drives even worse investment decisions. This is the classic case of an organization that borrowed money while issuing purportedly guaranteed payment and then used the money to invest in risky securities. Where have we recently heard that this is not a good thing?
Of course, you can point to the politics to see why politicians might give benefits that are very large to employees, especially those who may be
able to influence elections in various ways. By making sure the benefits are mostly in the future, politicians can pretend that they cost a lot less than they’re going to cost. It’s a very bad situation. [Emphasis added.]
Why did he choose Ridgewood for this speech (flanked by his favorite union power brokers, btw)?
Odd choice since RW is not a major NJ transit hub…
Is it our “non-partisan” elections ?
Or perhaps it is another step towards politicizing the village and bringing Hudson county style Democrat political machinery into the village? (we are a tempting – rich, clueless – prize after all)
Maybe it is just something as simple as (yet another) attempt by Aronsohn to revive his political “career”.
who knows…
Ridgewood IS NOT one of NJ Transit’s busiest stations… its not even in the top 7 according to the 2014 “NJ Transit Facts at a Glance” sheet.
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LINK: https://www.njtransit.com/pdf/FactsAtaGlance.pdf
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Here is what NJ Transit lists as its top Seven:
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Stations with the Highest Boarding Levels Avg. Weekday Boardings
Penn Station New York (Rail) ……………………………………………. 87,130
Port Authority Bus Terminal (Bus) ………………………………………. 78,014
Newark Penn Station (Rail) ……………………………………………….. 27,224
Frank R. Lautenberg Secaucus Junction (Rail)…………………..24,459
Hoboken Terminal (Rail) …………………………………………………… 14,444
Metropark Station (Rail) ……………………………………………………… 7,748
Princeton Junction (Rail) …………………………………………………….. 6,799
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Ridgewood has 1,400 riders per day
LINK: https://www.stantec.com/our-work/projects/united-states-projects/r/ridgewood-station-rehabilitation.html#.VastQWfbKpc
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Menendez wouldn’t go to a 2nd rate train stop unless it served some other purpose for himself (or his political buddies in the village)
Friday, July 17, 2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Senator Bob Menendez held a press conference at the Ridgewood Train station yesterday under heavy security and pushed for more transit funding and union jobs. While it was an interesting choice of venue , a venue that had undergone a controversial $40 million renovation several years ago , which include and elevator to nowhere.
Menendez put forth his 9 Principles for a Public Transportation Reauthorization Bill, with no mention of how this stuff would be paid for or what happened to all the money in the Transportation Trust Fund or what the happened to all the shovel ready jobs from the stimulus package .
The senator was joined by our Mayor Paul Aronsohn for what many would call a union love fest .
“I categorically reject the idea that we can’t afford to fix our transportation system; we can’t afford not to fix it,” said Sen. Menendez, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development, which has jurisdiction over transit. “Let’s stop pretending the transportation problem is going to resolve itself if we just wait long enough. Hundreds of thousands of New Jersey families and millions of Americans rely on a safe, reliable, affordable transit system, and Congress must finally accelerate on real investments and stop putting the brakes on upgrades, innovations and protections.”
“We need a transportation system that drives economic growth and helps communities thrive. Strategically investing in public transit can save families money in the long run, and it reduces congestion on our roads. It also increases economic mobility and job growth, giving people more personal flexibility and freedom to get to work, school, or wherever they need to go. Building tomorrow’s transportation system begins with hard work, careful planning, and smart investments today and these key principles offer a roadmap for making needed infrastructure improvements,” said Sen. Reed, who also serves as the Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD).
“Robust funding and smart policy that ensures that our transit systems remain efficient, safe, and reliable must be a key component of any transportation funding bill,” said Sen. Schumer. “As the Senate Banking Committee works toward a bipartisan bill these principles lay out some basic tenets that the bill should strive to achieve. Without additional investment transit systems across the country will continue to deteriorate, increasing the backlog of critical maintenance projects and jeopardizing the safety of transit riders.”
“By making smart investments in our transit infrastructure, we can create jobs today and build long-term economic growth in the future,” said Senator Merkley. “Oregon has been a longtime leader in innovative development projects, it’s time we incorporate more of these ideas in our national policy. Improving the reliability and efficiency of our public transportation systems is a win-win for workers, businesses, and the environment. At the same time, it makes our cities and towns better places to live, work, and raise a family.”
“A strong public transportation system is good for families, good for business and good for this country,” said Senator Warren. “A 21st Century economy requires a 21st Century transportation system.”
Sen. Menendez made the announcement at a news conference outside the New Jersey Transit rail station in Ridgewood, N.J., where residents rely on public transportation to commute to work.
“For Ridgewood commuters, having access to safe, efficient and reliable mass transit is not just important; it is a way of life,” said Mayor Paul Aronsohn. “We are therefore grateful to all that Senator Menendez is doing to promote these principles for a public transportation reauthorization bill.”
Sen. Menendez argued that transit systems have the potential to spur economic development, revitalize communities, and create new jobs. His policy framework today also received support from the leaders of the New Jersey AFL-CIO, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), Laborer’s International Union of North America (LiUNA), Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), Bergen County Central Labor Council, International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) and SMART-Transportation.
“We need a strong multi-year transportation funding bill signed into law to improve our economy and strengthen our communities,” said Charles Wowkanech, president of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, which represents one million workers and their families. “Long-term funding allows proper planning and prioritization of our transportation needs, and creates permanent, sustainable jobs that make New Jersey a desirable location for employers and workers alike.”
“The Amalgamated Transit Union proudly stands with Senator Menendez, who recognizes the important role public transportation plays in communities across New Jersey and our country,” ATU State Council Chairman Ray Greaves said. “A long term transportation re-authorization bill will allow us to invest in and strengthen our transportation infrastructure, our mass transit system, and our workforce. It’s no secret that investment in mass transit is good for our economy and it creates jobs.”
“Once again, I commend Senator Menendez for his leadership in promoting the importance of making needed capital investments in our nation’s transportation infrastructure,” said Raymond M. Pocino, VP and Eastern Regional Mgr., Laborer’s International Union of North America. “The Senator’s policy priorities will help fund capital improvements to our region’s transit systems and enhance operational efficiencies. It is critical that we find a solution at the national and local level to fund our extensive transportation network. Without an efficient, mutli-modal transportation system we cannot grow our economy and create jobs, not only for the construction industry but all sectors of industry.”
“The passage of this bill will help New Jersey rebuild its failing infrastructure and create more opportunities for our residents to go to work,” said Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters Executive Secretary-Treasurer Michael Capelli.
“Senator Menendez is a true champion for the commuters of NJ Transit,” said Steve Burkert, General Chairman of SMART-Transportation Division Local 60, which is a member of the NJ Transit Rail Labor Coalition. “We applaud the Senator’s efforts to gain long term funding for NJ Transit. This funding will promote future growth and properly maintain current infrastructure. The safety of the passengers who ride our trains on a daily basis should never be compromised due to budgetary restraints. We stand here today in full support of Senator Menendez and his pursuit of funding the Public Transportation Reauthorization Bill.”
Principles for a Public Transportation Reauthorization Bill
Principle 1: Make sound investments by funding our nation’s transit programs at $115 billion over six years, the level recommended by the President.
Principle 2: Provide predictability and stability through a six-year authorization bill.
Principle 3: Address state of good repair challenges by growing programs including State of Good Repair and Bus and Bus Facilities.
Principle 4: Meet rising demand through increased investment in formula programs and Capital Investment Grants.
Principle 5: Strengthen America’s transit workforce through professional development, training, and robust worker protections.
Principle 6: Create sustainable communities through increased incentives for transit-oriented development
Principle 7: Build big, nationally and regionally significant projects in rural, suburban, and urban communities.
Principle 8: Invest in innovations that support safe, reliable, efficient and environmentally-friendly transit systems.
Principle 9: Improve disaster response by funding the Public Transportation Emergency Relief program.
more of Boyd Lovings photos will be posted durring the day and on the Ridgewood blogs Facebook page
We’ve all winced at the numbers. U.S. students rank 17th, 26th, and 21st on the reading, math, and science portions of the PISA exam – well below many of their international peers.
But even while we recognize that these numbers are bad, many of us secretly reassure ourselves that such is not the case with the local schools which our children attend. Surely the American children struggling to keep up with the rest of the world are in other communities besides our own, right?
Not necessarily. As recent test scores demonstrate, students from well-to-do suburban and rural areas might not be doing as well as we imagine.
A case in point is the Kettle Moraine school district, located on the outskirts of Milwaukee. The district’s superintendent describes Kettle Moraine as “‘a very good school district.’” In this district, “only about 10 percent of the 1,300 students at Kettle Moraine High qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and about 90 percent are white.” And with the high graduation rates and ACT test scores which many of its students achieve, one would have to agree that Kettle Moraine’s students seem to be ahead of the pack.
However, Kettle Moraine recently had the opportunity to take the OECD Test for Schools, an exam which channels the official PISA test, but adapts it for individual American schools to see how competitive they are on the global stage. As it turns out, students from the high-achieving Kettle Moraine district weren’t leading the global pack in a key area. They were behind.
Editors note : once again another editorial that failed to address :
1- what happened to the presidents stimulus money ?
2- where has the TTF money been spent?
3- why does road work cost so much in New Jersey
4- why haven’t we audited the TTF ?
5- we already have enormous revenues from tolls and taxes how is it being spent?
answer any of these questions and you may get some public support for “solutions”June 28, 2015We were disappointed to learn earlier this month that, despite overwhelming opposition from riders and public officials, NJ Transit will be proceeding with the planned fare hikes and service cuts it proposed earlier this year.The action is unavoidable, says NJ Transit, because the agency has a $56 million budget gap; to close it, fares will jump 9 percent, on average, and rail and bus routes will be cut back.This is bad news for commuters, no doubt about it, but it’s bad news for business owners, too. Earlier this month, NJ.com published a report on the median property values along NJ Transit rail lines, and unsurprisingly, people are willing to pay quite a price to live near access to employment hubs such as Newark, Morristown, New Brunswick, Princeton and others. That gives companies incentive to locate in these areas, which gives developers incentive to make investments in these towns, which in turn brings more businesses — especially smaller ones — and powers downtown revitalization. Towns such as Summit and Montclair would be a much tougher sell for commuters if they lacked reliable rail transportation.This is just another example of New Jersey’s poor transportation planning coming home to roost. The depleted Transportation Trust Fund, starved by an insufficient gas tax, has made major rail investment an afterthought. Raising fares is only going to push more cars on the road at rush hour, exacerbating what many consider to be the Garden State’s worst problem, and will harm investment in rail towns by developers and businesses. No one likes a tax hike, but a small increase in the gas tax is preferable to another big transit fare hike. It would be nice if legislators wised up and ensured this is the last increase for the foreseeable future.
Part of the reason we’re here is poor policy. No public transit agency is going to break even, much less turn a profit, but NJ Transit has often been a victim of not getting what it needs from the state, combined with its own share of dunderheaded decisions, such as rail car storage during Sandy. The state must take a hard look at the impact rail service has on municipalities when it thinks about funding infrastructure upgrades or new station construction. And that goes for bus and light rail projects, too — the tremendous impact of the Hudson-Bergen light rail line on property values was long ago demonstrated. Given that the only new jobs being talked about in New Jersey are at casinos or megamalls, professionals are likely to need reliable access to New York to find the work they want — and they’re paying for that privilege.
Everything that the council is doing affects our schools
Schools are the largest part of our tax bill – that is a fact. That does not mean that the schools are not accountable.
It will be a gross overreach for the state to mandate full day kindergarten. I am starting to agree with Rick Perry that we need to abolish the Department of Education. Government is best which governs least.
Many parents actually enjoy spending the AM/PM with their children. We had activites and time with friends when the kids were in kindergarten. My kids did very well in elementary school, high school and college. Your kids will not go to Harvard because they had full day kindergarten.
NYC has preschool and middle school after care programs. The need for these programs in a city is not the same as for programs in Ridgewood. In the city the schools are the place where many students receive two meals a day and get health screening. Working parents do not have the time for homework and reading to the kids. Children need the time in school as a social safety net.
I paused my career to be home with my kids and never regretted it. If working parents need babysitting then they should hire someone. My taxes should not go to support someone’s child care needs. Maybe dad/mom can work from home or with flex time. You will never look back and say that you wished that you spent more time at work.
TRENTON — Casinos in north Jersey? The odds are against it.
A Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll of 913 New Jersey residents released Tuesday found 56 percent oppose allowing casinos outside of Atlantic City, while just 37 percent support it.
“The public is questioning the logic behind allowing the spread of casino gambling,” said Krista Jenkins, a political science professor of political science and director of PublicMind. “They don’t seem to be sold on the idea of saving the gaming industry in the state by allowing it to spread.”
And despite a major push in recent months by politicians and business people who want to expand casino gaming, public opinion has not moved significantly from the last time FDU asked the question in February.
“This degree of attentiveness isn’t turning many people on to the idea. or the premise that the money can and should be rightfully used in places other than where the casinos are ultimately built,” said Jenkins
The polls are important because allowing gaming outside of Atlantic City would require an amendment to the state constitution. That requires voter approval.
North Jersey lawmakers, including Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson), want to put the question on the ballot this year. South Jersey lawmakers have resisted that, even though some – including Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) – have been open to allowing casino gambling in northern New Jersey if hundreds of millions in proceeds go towards helping Atlantic City rebuild.
Supporters of expanding casino gaming have proposed dedicating $100 million a year in north Jersey casino proceeds to the struggling resort, which saw four casinos close in 2012.
JUNE 21, 2015, 10:43 PM LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, JUNE 21, 2015, 10:48 PM
BY SALVADOR RIZZO
STATE HOUSE BUREAU |
THE RECORD
Hundreds of thousands of public workers began paying more for their health care benefits after Governor Christie overhauled the system in 2011 — a massive shift that would save New Jersey taxpayers $3 billion over 10 years, administration officials said at the time.
But just four years in, instead of the expected savings, state and local taxpayers are staring at the prospect of footing more of the bill for those medical coverage plans.
The reason: Tucked inside the sprawling 2011 reform law is a sunset provision that says the higher payments required of public workers will expire in four years. After that, the provision says, all health care costs must again be negotiated at the bargaining table as union contracts come up for renewal.
For much of the workforce, that change kicks in at the end of this month.
So New Jersey’s powerful labor unions are gearing up for contract negotiations at all levels of government — from the state to counties, municipalities and school boards — with one unifying goal: to reduce health insurance costs as much as possible for their members.
HACKENSACK – The whole of New Jersey might be embroiled in casino controversy chaos, but to Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco, the case is clear: any future North Jersey casino should be built in the Meadowlands in his own Bergen County. (Bonamo/PolitickerNJ)
The New Jersey legislature, looking to solve a budget crisis back in 1992, passed a bill that changed some of the accounting principles of the state’s government employee pension system. The technical changes, little understood at the time, made the system seem in better financial shape than it actually was, allowing the legislature to reduce contributions for pensions by $1.5 billion over the next two years. Legislators seized those extra dollars and redirected them into other spending.
Jersey officials could manipulate their pension system because local governments have latitude in how they run their own retirement plans. So what they did was not unique. Around the country, state and local officials have increasingly discovered over the years that they can exploit the complex and sometimes ill-defined accounting of government pension systems, as well as loopholes in their own laws governing those pensions.
Over time, elected officials came to promise workers politically popular new benefits without setting aside the money to pay for them, declared “holidays” from contributions into pension systems and changed their own accounting systems midstream to make the systems seem better funded — all just ways of passing obligations on to future taxpayers. In the process, government pension systems became one of the chief vehicles that state and local politicians used to massage their budgets.
Now we face the consequences. Our elected representatives played a deceptive game of chicken with pension funds. And now the chickens have come home to roost.
If Casinos didn’t help Atlantic City what makes you think they can help North Jersey ?
No one should look to the gambling industry to revive cities, “because that’s not what casinos do.”
Baltimore is a troubled city, as you know from The Wire. Like many troubled cities, Baltimore has turned to casino gambling as its solution. On August 26, a new Caesar’s casino will open on the site of an old chemical factory, a little more than 2 miles from the famous Inner Harbor and Camden Yards baseball stadium. Yet there’s already reason to expect the casino to disappoint everyone involved: the city looking for tax revenues, the workers hoping for jobs, the investors expecting hefty returns.
Outside of Las Vegas—now home to only 20 percent of the nation’s casino industry—casino gambling has evolved into a downscale business. Affluent and educated people visit casinos less often than poorer people do for the same reasons that they smoke less and drink less and weigh less.
Unfortunately for the casino industry’s growth hopes, downscale America has less money to spend today than it did before 2007. Nor is downscale America sharing much in the post-2009 recovery. From a news report on the troubles of a recently opened Ohio casino:
Ameet Patel, general manager of the property, says the softness in casino revenue that he and other operators have seen has been driven by a key demographic: women older than 50 who used to bet $50 to $75 per visit. The weak recovery has squeezed their gambling budgets, and their trips to casinos are fewer, he says.
What’s true in Ohio applies nationwide. Casino revenues had still not recovered their 2007 peaks as of the spring of 2014, when again they went into reverse in most jurisdictions. Moody’s now projects that casino revenues will drop through the rest of 2014 and all of 2015, slicing industry earnings by as much as 7.5 percent.
AMES, Iowa — After winning a major ruling at the state Supreme Court allowing him to cut payments New Jersey’s pension system, Governor Christie had defiant words for labor leaders and Democratic leaders in the state Legislature on Thursday.
Christie, a Republican, called on public workers to accept reductions in their health benefits if they want to secure more funding for the troubled pension system. It is the only way forward, Christie said, because he will not raise taxes to fund the retirement system. (Rizzo/The Record)
If the matter was rejected by NJ’s Supreme Court, it’s highly unlikely that The Federal Supreme Court would go the other way. The SCOTUS tends to lean slightly more to the right than their NJ colleagues. There’s also massive nationwide ramifications for the SCOTUS to consider here, as this same issue applies throughout the country. Many States and local Governments are operating at near bankruptcy. The fat lady is doing voice scales in her dressing room.
Yep, we need some real longer-term, structural change in NJ govt spending. A few ideas being thrown around include open bidding NJ state road & infrastructure projects to private sector firms to cut out union & Mafioso graft, increased pension contributions and health insurance premiums paid by state & municipal employees and retirees for health. Asking state & municipal workers to roll back many of the pension enhancements they’ve been given since the 1990s under Florio and Whitman, i.e. maximum pensionable income should be capped like California at $110K, with pensions at 50% of that, ie $55K, in-line with current PFRS avg $57K. New employees should be moved to 401(k) style defined contribution plans, not defined benefit anymore so that politicians can no longer interfere in pension funding issues and raid the funds for Union pet projects like Xanadu, and bye-bye to accumulated leave payouts upon retirement at up to six months of avg final comp rate – “use it or lose it”. Taxes are probably going up too if all of these concessions are made, the sooner the better.
Read the NJ Supreme Court’s full pen/ben decision here
In a long-awaited decision today that comes as a boon to Gov. Chris Christie and a blow public sector unions, the state’s Supreme Court ruled that the Republican’s administration does not have to make a slated contribution to a beleaguered pension and benefit system, striking down an earlier lower court decision that ruled the opposite.
In the 115 page document, Justice Jaynee LaVecchia wrote on behalf of the majority that the court cannot be a mediator of fiscal troubles “in place of the political branches.” (Brush/PolitickerNJ)
New Jersey’s Top Court Rules Christie Can Skip Pension Payments
New Jersey’s highest court ruledon Tuesday that Gov. Chris Christie could skip the pension payments he promised to make in the signature law of his tenure, averting a huge fiscal crisis just weeks before the state closes its books for the year. (Zernike/The New York Times)
Who poses the biggest threat to America’s economy by striking deals with crooked politicians? Big Oil, Big Pharma, or Big Unions? Daniel DiSalvo, political science professor at the City College of New York, gives the answer.
