Assembly Introduces Bills to Change Pension and Health Benefits, CWA Urges Workers to Call Their Legislators
The New Jersey State Assembly introduced a package of bills to make changes to the state's pension and health benefits system on Thursday, and the Communications Workers of America responded by urging all workers to contact their legislators.
The bills, which passed the New Jersey State Senate last week, punish state workers and do not solve the real problem with the pension plan: the fact that the state has not lived up to its obligations to fund the pension.
In response, CWA has issued a range of materials designed to help workers find and contact their legislators:
- Click here for an in-depth guide on how to find and contact your legislators
- Click here for useful information to have a conversation with your co-workers about how the proposed changes affect their pension and benefits
- Click here for a quick guide on how to find and call your legislators
- Click here for a guide on how to write letters to your legislators
- Click here for a flyer to put up in your workplace to remind all workers to wear red on Thursdays
It is expected that the Assembly will take a more thoughtful approach to the bills than the New Jersey State Senate, which rushed them through last week before it even knew what the financial impact on the budget would be and without talking to actuaries to determine the effects the plan would have on the pension.
To find information on the bills, including the text and status of each one, enter their numbers in the form on this page. You can also find the text of the bills by clicking on their numbers below (the Assembly bills are not yet available online, but they are identical to the Senate versions):