Police & Township Employees Set the Example for 2010

If you haven’t already read it, check out Kara Richardson’s report in Tuesday’s Courier News about the agreement reached with the Bridgewater Police. They’ve accepted a four-year agreement which specifies a wage freeze in 2010. Other township employees have already agreed to that concession.

This is in stark contrast with the three unions representing teachers and support staff, principals and supervisors of the Bridgewater-Raritan School District. About midway in the budget process, a written request to re-open contract negotiations was made by Board President Jeffrey Brookner and was turned down..

After the school budget was rejected by voters, Matthew Moench, Bridgewater Township Council President was rebuffed by the unions when he publicly expressed a strong preference for the three school bargaining units to accept a one-year wage freeze.

In contrast to the Bridgewater Police Department’s wage freeze, the BREA will enjoy a contracted pay raise of 4.35% for the new school year beginning July 1, 2010. The principals and supervisors will get similar increases.

As I have consistently discussed in this blog previously, school employees continue to enjoy pay increases significantly above the inflation rate. On May 20th, the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. inflation is at a “44-year low,” hovering under 1%.

And this doesn’t even begin to take into account the perilous financial condition of The State of New Jersey and its resulting inability to support excessive wage packages through increased school aid, thereby leaving the hapless local homeowner to pick up the tab.

Photo Note:  Entrance to the Bridgewater Police Department — click once on photo for a better view (by Dick Bergeron)