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Coalition includes labor, environmentalists, toll collectors, tenants, ethnic groups, others

A newly-formed Coalition on Privatization Monday announced its opposition to Gov. Chris Christie's proposal to privatize functions presently performed by government employees.

The coalition of 18 organizations, which was quickly embraced by legislative Democrats, maintains privatization would endanger public health and the environment and lead to higher fees and a reduction in services. Coalition members also warned it could lead to more public corruption.

The coalition is made up of labor unions, environmental and ethnic advocacy groups, and liberal activists, including the toll collectors' union, the New Black Panther Party, the New Jersey Tenants Association, the Sierra Club of New Jersey, and the Latino Action Network.

"Public assets and resources should be managed for the public good rather than private gain," New Jersey Food & Water Watch Director Jim Walsh said at a press conference.

The Republican Christie's administration wants to privatize certain state government services, including toll collections, an action that would cut the salaries of experienced toll collectors by more than half.

Democrats have proposed a constitutional amendment that would restrict how state and local governments privatize functions and ensure, that it would not result, among other things, in higher fees, and that the companies would pay their employees the same as public workers.

Christie believes the state government could save $210 million by privatizing services such as health care for prison inmates, state parks, highway rest stops and career centers for the unemployed and the toll collections.

Kevin Roberts, Christie's assistant press secretary, told reporters the coalition does not seem to want "an honest discussion about bringing new efficiencies to government and savings to taxpayers."

"What you heard was a lot of extreme rhetoric mention to poison the well of public opinion," Roberts said.

Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel said the coalition supports Assembly bill ACR-150, the state Constitution before the Legislature, which would attempt to ensure that state contracts with private companies will result in less costs and more services for taxpayers.

"The word privateer comes from privatization and we know that is just another name for a pirate," Tittel said. "Increased regulation of these deals is necessary because the result of privatization is often a decrease in services to the public, higher costs, and the proliferation of pay to play contracts.

Tittel charged that privatization often leads to higher rates for services and worse quality in drinking water and more pollution from sewer systems going into streams and rivers. He said studies have shown that when public services are privatized corporate profits replace meeting the needs of consumers and the environment.

"With privatization we see higher costs, worse services, and at times threats to public health and safety. Its bad for the consumers and bad for the environment," Tittel said. "Many of the companies care more about their shareholders than the public they are suppose to serve."

Tittel said the privatization of public parkland would result in the loss of public access to open space, parks and forests, and historic sites. He said historic artifacts and artwork have disappeared from privatized historic sites.

"When a for-profit company takes over public infrastructure and public lands and is responsible for public health and safety, we are concerned that their mission which is private and corporate does not include anything for the public," Tittel said. "ACR150 will require companies bidding on state contracts to conduct cost analyses and demonstrate cost reductions can be achieved through more efficient practices, not through the reduction of services or increased costs to the public. The bill will increase public oversight of contracts by requiring public disclosure of contracts.

Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) the sponsor of bill (S-2323), which would set standards and practices for government privatization, welcomed the new coalition.

"We often hear the phrase ‘Government should act more like a business.' Considering the many instances in the last few years in which the private sector has either let down its workers, corrupted or abused the public trust, or engaged in unscrupulous and outright illegal activity, all in the name of posting a profit, I don't know that it's such good advice," Weinberg said..

"Government was never intended to act under the same principles and guidelines which dictate success in the private market," the senator said. "We give away our profits, either to fund worthy programs or services we all rely on, like quality roads, environmental protection and public health, or we give it back to the taxpayers in the form of tax relief. In fact, government is the only area I know in which, if we don't spend most of the revenues we take in each year, we're not doing our job.

"I've sponsored legislation which would set basic guidelines for when privatization takes place," Weinberg added. "Under the bill, government officials at any level would be prohibited from instituting privatization if cost savings are achieved through a reduction in workforce or services, or if the final cost to the taxpayers is increased. Privatization for the sake of privatization cannot and should not take place in the Garden State. I hope that this bill is considered soon so that New Jersey's hard-working public employees are given assurances about the safety of their jobs, and so that New Jersey taxpayers can breathe a sigh of relief, confident that the programs they rely on will still be in place."

Assembly Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver (D-Essex) said, "We've seen many instances in the past where privatization of various state functions was rushed into blindly without a full understanding of how it would impact the delivery of services, the workers involved in the operations or the long-term costs to the state.

"Often times these agreements only deliver short-term cost savings but long-term damages to the delivery of services offered to taxpayers," Oliver said. "In many instances, lower wage earners are the ones who suffer when their jobs are eliminated or replaced. Any privatization arrangement should be conducted under a microscope with a full cost analysis that demonstrates how savings would be achieved without increased fees, substantially reduced workforces, or lower standards of service or workplace safety. Only then would it truly benefit the taxpayers of New Jersey. Otherwise, it would simply be a short-term gimmick to plug a budget hole, one that could have disastrous long-term effects."

Assemblyman Craig J. Coughlin (D-Middlesex), a co-sponsor of ACR-150, said, "While privatization often sounds great in theory, its true impact is often hidden in the details," Couglin said. "Private businesses are in the business of making a profit, whereas government is in the business of protecting and serving its citizens. When a business bids on a project or a service previously or currently performed by a public entity, they are seeking to make a profit."

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM