Thousands of workers protested outside
the state capitol building in Trenton, N.J., Feb. 25 to express their
outrage over budget cuts proposed by Gov. Chris Christie. The
demonstration, largely organized by unions, rejected plans to slash
funding for vital programs and force public workers to pay roughly
$5,000 into their benefits.
Christie hypocritically cites the
looming budget crisis as justification for these measures even though
he recently let a tax on the wealthy expire. Peggy Athergon, a New
Jersey social worker who participated in the protest, reflected on
the preferential treatment for the rich, “A contract is a contract
when it’s for a million-dollar bonus, but when it’s state workers,
contracts have to be renegotiated.” (labornotes.org, Feb. 25)
Inspired by the movement in Wisconsin
against the union-busting proposals of Gov. Scott Walker, workers
across the country are taking to the streets. Rather than relying on
politicians, we can defeat these unjust austerity measures with mass
mobilizations.
