CWA RATIFIES CONTRACT WITH MURPHY ADMINISTRATION COVERING 35K WORKERS

(TRENTON, NJ)  Today, the Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO announced that it has ratified a Contract with the Murphy Administration.  The Contract covers 35,000 workers employed by the Executive Branch of New Jersey State Government in the Administrative/Clerical, Professional and Supervisory Bargaining Units.

“This Contract finally closes the book on the Christie Administration,” said New Jersey CWA Director Hetty Rosenstein.  “CWA was unwilling to permit Chris Christie to flout the law and destroy collective bargaining.   We held our ground, and are heartened that the terrible Christie chapter of New Jersey history is now over.  Our members were very supportive of CWA’s commitment to hold out. And we are ecstatic that they’ve overwhelmingly ratified this Agreement.”

“We are heartened to reach this fair agreement with the Murphy Administration,” said CWA District 1 Vice-President Dennis Trainor.  “This is a great day for New Jersey and the working men and women who dedicate their lives to making state government run.”

The term of the Contract is from July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2019.   The terms of the Agreement include two across the board salary increases of 2% beginning August 15, 2017 and another 2% beginning the first pay period in July, 2018.

The Contract also includes a settlement with the State of New Jersey over litigation that was precipitated by the Christie Administration when automatic performance “step increases” or “increments” that were unilaterally stopped at the expiration of the last Contract.   That litigation mirrored lawsuits that were brought earlier by police department unions in Atlantic County and Bridgewater Township.  In those two cases, the Supreme Court of New Jersey overturned the ending of automatic increments.  The Settlement includes a provision that all workers employed as of April, 2018 will receive back pay for all of the increments they were denied and will be placed on step as if they had received those increments on time.

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