May 22, 2020
Dear Union Family,
Please read this update carefully.
You have probably read about the Steve Sweeney Job Share/Furlough bill that the Legislature passed. This bill is an update of 2013 Job Sharing legislation that permits partial furloughs, and the only change appears to be a clarification that employees make a full pension payment during the furlough and receive full credit. (Which was the practice, but was not in the law.) This bill requires that there is Union agreement. Although Sweeney is touting the possibility of 100,000 furloughs of public workers, it is CWA’s intention to use this legislation or the current law only if it will avoid the worst prospect – layoffs. This bill does not cause mandatory furloughs. They must be negotiated and agreed to by the union.
You may have also read that the Governor has approved a change to a Civil Service Rule that previously only permitted 30-day VOLUNTARY furloughs but will permit longer Furloughs without loss of healthcare or pension benefits to prevent layoff. Please note – these furloughs cannot be made unilaterally. Furloughs that apply to multiple workers represented by CWA have to be negotiated. Individual workers can make use of the Voluntary Furlough regulation where it applies to their circumstances.
Our problem is not the legislation or the Rule. This legislation and Rule, while tools, would not do enough to stem the bleeding of revenues to the State and Local municipalities. With the current level of losses to revenues, the State is facing at least 10 BILLION (that’s a B!) in lost revenues. If these revenues are not made up through federal funding or bonding, there will be massive cuts to the State, to counties, and to municipalities. This doomsday scenario requires responsible and strenuous action from our Congress and from the NJ Legislature in the form of support for the Governor’s plan to bond to make up for lost revenues.
Neither the Sweeney Furlough Bill nor the revised Civil Service put our members in harms’ way by their passage. We are deeply engaged and watching these developments and we will take responsible actions that protect our members. The genuine and immediate threat is the loss of $10 billion in revenues and the need for federal aid and for State borrowing.
CWA is preparing for all contingencies. We are talking with the Administration regularly, we are actively supporting Federal legislation, and we are speaking with our State and Federal officials about financing.
Our entire approach is the safety of our members, the protection of jobs and healthcare, and the maintenance of public services.
We are planning several Telephone Townhall calls to discuss our contingency planning and we will send you notices next week about how to join the call(s). There will be a call specific to State workers as well as a call that will cover the specific challenges that are facing some of our State colleges.
When we have those calls, we will call you at the number that you have provided to us. If you have not been receiving the calls, please go here now, and give us your phone number.
We know that you have many questions and concerns about the future of your job and the important work that you do. We will have some answers when we have the call. For now, please be assured that our Union is very proactively engaged in protecting all our members.
In Solidarity,
John Rose, President, CWA Local 1031
Patrick Kavanagh, President, CWA Local 1032
Gaye Palmer, President, CWA Local 1033
Adam Liebtag, President, CWA Local 1036
Ken McNamara, President, CWA Local 1037
Shawn Ludwig, President, CWA Local 1038
Carolyn Wade, President, CWA Local 1040
Hetty Rosenstein, NJ Director
Dennis Trainor, Vice President District 1
A New Jersey voter may vote by mail by completing the Application for Vote by Mail Ballot and return the application to their County Clerk.
To receive your ballot by mail, the application must be received by the County Clerk 7 days prior to the election. June 30, 2020, is the deadline to apply for a Mail-In Ballot by mail for Primary Election. Please note, the County Clerk cannot accept faxed or emailed copies of an Application for Vote by Mail Ballot, unless you are a Military or Overseas Voter, since an original signature is required.
Applications for Vote by Mail Ballot can be found here.
May 13: Deadline for Change of Party Affiliation Declaration
May 30: Commencement of Mailing Regular Mail-In Ballots for Primary Election
June 30: Voter Registration Deadline to Register to Vote in the Primary Election
July 7: Primary Election Day, Ballots must be postmarked by this date
Please contact the local if you have any questions.
CWA Local 1033 Political Action Committee
You may have read Governor Murphy’s warning that without assistance from the Federal Government, New Jersey will suffer unheard of layoffs of state, county, municipal and education workers.
Although there are no plans in place for these types of layoffs, this was not an idle threat. Income tax, sales tax, fees, and other revenues have plummeted, while the demand for services and cost of addressing the virus, have skyrocketed. The State has already spent hundreds of millions of dollars on Personal Protective Equipment and testing, and as we know there still isn’t nearly enough equipment or testing.
Why aren’t layoffs an answer?
1. Our public services were already extremely understaffed before this hit. State and county and municipal workplaces have been down more than 20% of staff since 2008. We can’t lose more workers. The Emergency has stopped a great deal of work and left all but emergency and direct care work backlogged. But this work cannot be delayed forever and how will it ever get done if there are tens of thousands of layoffs. Will we never have parks? Who will help people get food stamps? Are we going to reward the heroes of this pandemic by laying them off?
2. Layoffs are a blunt instrument. Many jobs are partially paid for by Federal Funds. If you cut those jobs, there is actually very little in savings generated. Many fully state-funded or county and municipally-funded jobs are filled by essential workers and are direct services for those most in need.
3. Putting more people on unemployment will stress the economy, not relieve it. Loss of income and healthcare benefits will turn the workers who were serving the public and propping up the economy into families in need who are taxing limited public resources.
4. The greatest source of public money goes to public education. Are we going to layoff thousands of teachers? Close schools forever? Eliminate all education other than bare bones? Destroying the education for a generation of children cannot be the answer.
What’s to be done?
Write and call your Member of Congress:
Senator Menendez (D-NJ) and Senator Cassidy (R-LA) are sponsoring the State and Municipal Aid for Recovery and Transition (SMART) Fund, a bill for a $500 billion fund for state and local governments. STATES, COUNTIES AND MUNICIPALITIES need this bill! The bill is supported by both Republican and Democratic governors all over the country. Please send an email to your Member of Congress and tell them to sponsor and support this bill.
Don’t delay! Act now.
In Solidarity,
CWA New Jersey
YOU ARE ELIGIBLE for First Responder testing. (example: our 24/7 healthcare workers, Child Protective Services workers, on the job Dept. of Health responders, EMTs, public-facing emergency social services.)
There are several FIRST RESPONDER testing locations throughout that have been set up, and CWA members can access them by going through the portal set up by our friends at the PBA. Here is the portal: https://njpba.adlabscovidtest.com/
Please note: You have to fill out a screening form to be eligible for testing. The form will ask you what union you are a member of – where it says “other” put in CWA. It will also ask you what your “badge number” is. If you have a State ID, use that number, or put your Local union number in: example – 1033.
If you have symptoms of COVID-19, the test will be free and covered entirely by insurance. If you do not meet all the symptom eligibility, you can get the test for $52.
SPECIAL THANKS TO PBA PRESIDENT PATRICK COLLIGAN AND PBA COLLEAGUE KEVIN LYONS FOR MAKING THIS AVAILABLE TO CWA FIRST RESPONDERS. Thanks, NJ State PBA
These are symptoms only sites. You will also have to fill out a screening questionnaire. DO NOT SHOW UP AT THESE SITES WITHOUT HAVING DONE SO. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GET TESTED WITHOUT BEING SCREENED FOR SYMPTOMS. You can find a list of the testing sites and a fill out the self-assessment: https://covid19.nj.gov/locations?query=Testing+Centers&tabOrder=all%2CpromotedContent%2Clocations%2Cresources%2Cstatus%2CNJfaqs%2CAASfaqs%2Ccoronavirus
Please call and make appropriate appointments. Do not just show up at testing sites. These sites can be overwhelmed quickly.
To ensure our members get the care they need, eliminate potential delays in admission and treatment, and help New Jersey hospitals deal with the increasing demand on staff resources, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ) is waiving pre-authorization and pre-certification for inpatient admissions at in-network acute care h…
— Read on http://www.horizonhealthnews.com/eliminating-pre-authorization-requirements-for-acute-care-hospital-admissions-and-referral-requirements-for-medicaid-members/
While the COVID-19 outbreak has a widespread impact, for some groups the situation furthers their vulnerabilities and limitations. On this page, you will find a list of resources, campaigns, and actions to help support your families and communities as we all work to respond to this moment.
— Read on cwa-union.org/cwa-human-rights-covid-19-resources