New Jersey: At least 12,000 off-duty and retired New Jersey policemen and firefighters held a rally outside the state Capitol to protest staff cuts and promote public safety.
The protesters said budget cuts and layoffs have thinned their ranks to unsafe levels.
Public safety workers also object to proposals by Republican Gov. Chris Christie and Democratic Senate President Stephen Sweeney to make them work longer before retiring and significantly raise their pension and health benefits.
“Traditionally, police officers and firefighters do not rally,” said Bill Lavin, an Elizabeth firefighter and president of the Firemen’s Mutual Benevolent Association, representing 5,500 full-time firefighters. “This is an emergency response.”
Lavin said attendance at the rally swelled because public safety workers are tired of hearing rhetoric from the governor that devalues their profession and tries to separate them from other taxpayers.
The pension fund for police and firefighters, teachers, state, county and local government workers and judges is underfunded by $54 billion. The health care system for workers and retirees is underfunded by $67 billion.
William Nunn, a corrections officer who was at the rally says, “If the state had properly funded the pension system over the years instead of taking money out, there wouldn’t be a crisis. We call on them to put back the money they took out, to fulfill the promises they made to us.”
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