Civil Service Commission
CWA's update on Kristie's "Tool Kit"
In response to several questions that members have posed recently, this is to clarify that THE ONLY “TOOL KIT” BILLS PRESENTLY UNDER CONSIDERATION ARE THE ARBITRATION AND THE CIVIL SERVICE BILLS.
Senate Bill S2171 and Assembly Bill A3075 would give management sole authority to select arbitrators, putting an end to Labor's voice in jointly agreeing on them. Senate Bill S2039 and Assembly Bill A2954 would allow counties and municipalities to opt out of Civil Service requirements, effectively ending protections for workers that have stood for over 100 years!
As always, CWA 1039 Staff Representatives stand ready to answer your questions and keep you in the know!
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CWA Opposes the Civil Service “Opt Out” Bill!!
Add your voice to the growing outcry to preserve Civil Service! Compose your own letter or use ours as your template. If you need your legislators’ addresses, call us and we’ll get you started!
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Dear :
As you consider the various bills emerging from Governor Christie’s “Tool Kit,” CWA Local 1039 hopes that you will pay particular attention to the Civil Service “Opt Out” bill. Presently designated for legislative review as Assembly Bill A-2580, this proposed legislation places the Garden State’s century-old commitment to fair and equitable treatment in the workplace in needless peril.
As you might know, membership in CWA Local 1039 numbers up to 4200 workers, spanning seven state departments. Among the most critical of their questions and concerns, A-2580 looms as one of the most, if not the most onerous . The reasons for this are several, as articulated in the accompanying article which appeared in our Spring 2010 edition of “Unity News.”
Erosion of Civil Service protections at the municipal and county levels threatens the bedrock principles of honesty, integrity, and accountability in government upon which our country is founded. The Civil Service Commission (CSC) exemplifies this concept in its mission statement: “The CSC provides a forum for appeals to be heard, and fair and impartial decisions to be rendered.”
The core beliefs of our elected officials must reflect fairness and impartiality in all the decisions they render. By allowing some elected officials to “opt out” of these core beliefs we reintroduce to government the spoils system that the CSC came into being to prevent. When that happens, we effectively remove honesty, integrity, and accountability from the attributes that we expect our leaders to possess and the principles by which we expect them to govern.
We hope and trust that you will not allow that to happen on your watch. Please raise your voice and cast your vote against this bill. In doing so, you will assure your constituency, our membership, and all voting taxpayers in New Jersey that honesty, integrity, and accountability remain alive and well in The Garden State. Moreover, you will reassert the importance of preserving principles of government that differentiate America from despotic regimes around the world, principles that gave birth to our great nation in the first place.
Most sincerely,
Thomas J. Palermo, President
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Click here for the latest
Civil Service information
Overview from the Civil Service Commission Public Hearing Held on July 13, 2010
Register to vote in New Jersey.
CWA Local 1039 represents and advocates on behalf of 4,120 workers in the public sector in the state of New Jersey.