Charles Stile ponders the “reversal of fortune” for unions in NJ (specifically NJEA and CWA), as public opinion veers from sympathy to frustration to contempt for unsustainable entitlements divorced from economic realities:
The reversal of fortune is stunning. Typically, the Legislature bands together in bipartisan unity to boost public employee pensions — a 9 percent hike in pension benefits nine years ago is the poster child of egregious pro-union giveaways. But on Monday, the Senate voted 36-0 on four bills that reduce or strip away pension benefits, mostly for future employees. Among the perks new hires will not get: that infamous 9 percent hike.
In the past, the unions yawned as smaller-government conservatives railed at government worker pensions. But this time, Democrats led the charge, and not just any Democrats, but those who double as union members. It made you wonder if the vote was held in a right-to-work state like Georgia, not New Jersey.
