N.J. public unions defend mandatory dues challenged in U.S. Supreme Court

TRENTON — New Jersey’s public labor union leaders say they are intently watching a case before the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday that could strike down compulsory membership dues and threaten how they are funded. The outcome is of major consequence in the Garden State and about 20 other states where public workers are required to… Read the rest of this entry »

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Kryillos announces 7 point jobs plan, picks up NFIB endorsement

After spending the last two months touring New Jersey businesses listening to what job creators need to jump start the U.S. economy, State Senator Joe Kyrillos, the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate announced a 7 point jobs plan, America Works, at a press conference in Trenton yesterday.   Representatives of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) were on hand to endorse Kyrillos’s plan and his candidacy against incumbent U.S. Senator Bob Menendez.

“Americans are struggling through the weakest economic recovery since the Great Depression,” said Kyrillos. “Families that played by the rules and worked hard are not looking for a handout or another government program, but for the opportunity to use their talent, industry, and smarts to build their own future. After listening to the difficulties these job creators face first-hand, I was able to create a jobs plan that directly addresses their needs.

“We need jobs and my plan creates them by restoring fiscal responsibility, reforming the tax code, reducing unnecessary and burdensome red tape, and restoring our nation’s place as the home of innovation. It will also establish programs to build a competitive workforce and put forth solutions to our nation’s energy crisis. The prosperity of our country is in jeopardy. We cannot afford to stay the course Bob Menendez has charted for our future. The opportunity for profound economic growth is before us, and we must seize it.”

Menendez scored the endorsement of Communications Workers of America (CWA), the largest government workers union in New Jersey, on Wednesday.

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Kyrillos Calls for Firing of CWA Workers in ‘Sick-Out’ That Left 174 Disabled Residents Stranded

Middletown-  In response to an apparent ‘sick-out’ staged by Monmouth County SCAT bus drivers, Senator Joe Kyrillos (R- Monmouth/Middlesex) called for the immediate firing of the 17 CWA workers involved:

“It is outrageous that 174 disabled and elderly clients who depend on SCAT were stranded by what appears to be a coordinated effort by employees to disrupt service without notice,” said Kyrillos.  “The actions of these workers is completely unbecoming of any public servant, and should make every taxpayer in Monmouth County furious.  CWA, the union representing these employees, needs to denounce their members for putting the well-being of these vulnerable individuals at risk, and the employees in question should be fired.”

Seventeen SCAT workers, including fourteen bus drivers for the developmentally disabled and senior citizens, took sick leave with no notice on Friday, February 25th- the same day as a coordinated demonstration organized by labor leaders at the State Capitol.  Service was disrupted for 174 clients who take SCAT buses to medical appointments or work.

“The rights of workers to demonstrate, protest, and take appropriate leave from work for personal purposes are not disputed,” Kyrillos stated.  “However, it is not their right to abuse sick leave and disrupt a system many people have come to rely on.  In fact, it is a breach of contract and should be punished to the fullest extent possible.  This type of behavior not only hurts the people SCAT serves, it harms the reputation of all public workers.”

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