Public employees face a day of reckoning in Newark
A Superior Court judge in Newark is expected to hear arguments today in a labor dispute that has implications for the future of all public employee unions. Although the case deals only with the Newark Teachers Union (NTU), the central issue—the so-called “management prerogative” of the state—could affect tens of thousands of other public employees.
At the core of the dispute is whether a public employer—in this case, the Newark public schools run for the Christie Administration by Christopher Cerf—can overturn 40 years of negotiated practice to decide unilaterally and without bargaining the provider of prescription drug benefits.
Cerf, contending he is acting “for the children” to save money, decided on his own to award the prescription program to Benecard Services, a company founded by former Republican senatorial and gubernatorial candidate Douglas Forrester and recommended by the even more politically connected insurance broker Connor Strong, owned by George Norcross III who, although the Democratic political boss of South Jersey, is a close ally of Christie.
The provider now is GPP, but at stake is more than just the provider. Also at stake is the future of an entity known as the Supplemental Fringe Benefits Fund (SFBF), established in 1972 after several years of rancor between the NTU and the district—rancor that included a 61-day strike.
Under the terms of the agreement—which has been included in all NTU contracts for nearly 45 years—the SFBF hires the benefit providers. It is jointly overseen by the union and the school district.
Cerf has argued that, not only does he have the power to ignore the fund’s Public employees face a day of reckoning in Newark | Bob Braun's Ledger: