6/17/11, "Moran: Real leadership sang louder than N.J. unions' tired refrains," NJ Star-Ledger, Tom Moran
"The public worker unions know every step of this dance by heart, and they executed it perfectly Thursday.
The big rally. The civil disobedience. The songs about the working class. Even the giant inflatable rat, with a sign hung around its waist saying simply: "Betrayal"
But this time, something remarkable happened: It didn’t work.
- The unions, finally, lost a big one.
Inside the Statehouse, within earshot of the rally, senators on the budget committee cast a vote that amounted to a punch in the gut. Public workers would pay more for less, bringing their health and pension benefits back to earth.
"You saw the unions today do their best to intimidate people," said (Democrat) Senate President Steve Sweeney. "But guess what? We’re in charge. I didn’t come down here to be told what to do."
Mark this as the day that the spell was broken, the day that the public worker unions finally lost their stranglehold on the Legislature, the day that Democrats ginned up the courage to confront the most important special interest group in their coalition.
Union leaders were in a daze, like jilted lovers who couldn’t believe the breakup was actually happening.
This is Jersey, and they have been kings for a long time, even when Republicans were in power. A decade ago, they got a 9 percent pension boost just for asking. They rigged the rules on collective bargaining so they couldn’t lose, sending the average police salary to nearly $100,000. It became almost impossible to fire them, so no one even tried.
Then two things happened: The costs grew and grew, and the recession hit.That led to the breakup. Because while politicians felt the fury of their taxpayers, the unions didn’t.
Teachers refused to take a pay freeze, despite the recession. Cops wouldn’t yield on benefits, forcing mass layoffs in violent cities like Camden and Newark. Firefighters fought to keep giant payouts for unused sick time, even as union members in the private sector were taking a pounding.
"I’m an ironworker and we have 40 percent unemployment," Sweeney said. "I got guys with tears in their eyes saying they can’t send their kids to college."
Even Thursday, when their doom was obvious, the unions didn’t seem to get it. At the rally, they sang songs about the working class and the rich, as if they were coal miners eeking out a meager wage, as if middle-class taxpayers were the greedy mine owners.
"Have we dealt with this situation well?" asked Vince Giordano, the political operative for the state’s teachers union. "Yes, without question."
Of course, this is not all about clueless unions. Believe it or not, this is also a story about effective politics.
That’s right. New Jersey politics worked Thursday because the leadership on all sides showed courage. Strange as it may seem to say this,
- the state was well served by its politicians.
Gov. Chris Christie pushed this cause hard, and to great effect. Despite his pugilistic style in public, he made key compromises behind closed doors that allowed this to happen.
(Democrat) Senate President Steve Sweeney came up large as well. Many of his fellow Democrats hate him for it, as do the public worker unions. He wants to run for higher office, and this could snuff his chances. But he did it anyway.
The surprise was Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver. Her fellow Democrats constantly whisper that she is a weak leader, and is tainted because she won the speakership through a backroom deal arranged by the bosses.
But this was her defining moment. She hammered out the final compromise, and she has agreed to put the bill to a floor vote despite the fact that a heavy majority of her fellow Democrats oppose the reform.
Her caucus is even more angry about this than Sweeney’s caucus. She faces a possible revolt from more militant Democrats led by Assemblyman Joe Cryan (D-Union), her majority leader. But she did it anyway....
For the union members, ill-served by their leadership, this is a rotten twist. At Thursday’s rally, they went through the motions, cheering when another militant Democrats vowed to keep fighting.
But many of them knew they just lost a big one.
"What do we do now?" asked Edward Pierce, a CWA member, one of hundreds at the rally wearing the union’s trademark red t-shirt. "I think we need to take a more creative approach. They’re coming after us."...
At the end, he turned to head home as an off-key version of "Solidarity Forever" blared from the scratchy loudspeakers near the podium.
His final message was for the Democrats, and it underscored why they deserve a lot credit for this one.
"In November," he said, taking a final pull from his cigar. "We’ll remember.""
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Above article via InstaPundit, 6/17/11:
"Public Employee Unions revealed as paper tigers again. This time in New Jersey. “Even Thursday, when their doom was obvious, the unions didn’t seem to get it. At the rally, they sang songs about the working class and the rich, as if they were coal miners ekeing out a meager wage, as if middle-class taxpayers were the greedy mine owners.”
It’s amazing how the power dynamic shifts when you run out of other people’s money.
UPDATE: Wisconsin Video: The scene at the Capitol the night the Senate passed the budget reform bill. Impotent, entitled rage.
The comments seem to underscore my earlier point about how it’s hard to get good goons these days.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Twilight Of The Unions? I predict an underbus moment for them before the 2012 elections."
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"A CWA union member walks past a giant inflatable rat outside the Statehouse Annex today before the start of a protest by state union workers against the public employee pension and health care benefits bill. Trenton, NJ 6/16/11." Star-Ledger photo.
The 'rat' they object to is their middle class neighbor whose taxes pay their salaries and benefits. Not comparable to a 'rat' who may own a coal mine.
via InstaPundit and Jammie Wearing Fool
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