newjerseynewsroom.com

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Gov. Chris Christie Friday came out in support of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker who is attempting to bust most of state's public employee unions.

The issue has garnered national attention as thousands of demonstrators protest outside the Statehouse in Madison and Democratic legislators have left the state to prevent a quorum that would lead to votes on Walker's proposals.

"Gov. Walker was elected by the people of Wisconsin," Christie said. "I know him and I trust him and I support him."

Both Christie and Walker are Republicans. In the autumn, Christie campaigned with Walker throughout Wisconsin.

At the Statehouse in Trenton, Christie declined to comment on the specifics of Walker's proposals, but said he understands the difficulty of balancing a budget in a difficult fiscal period.

"I support Gov. Walker's strong action to balance his budget," Christie said. "I'm not going to micromanage Wisconsin from New Jersey."

Christie is confronting a deficit of as much as $10 billion as he prepares to unveil his proposed 2011-12 state budget to the Democratic-controlled Legislature on Tuesday.

In an effort to close Wisconsin's budget gap, Walker has proposed stripping public employee unions -- except police and firefighters -- of much of their collective bargaining rights. Workers would only be able to bargain on wages, but their wages would also be capped to follow the Consumer Price Index. The police and firefighter unions were the only ones to support Walker's election.

Christie declined to say if he supports ending collective bargaining.

Barbara Keshishian, president of the New Jersey Education Association, the statewide teachers' union, said Christie's support of Walker gives a clear image of the governor's outlook toward unions.

"We've known it all along, and now it's official: Chris Christie has no respect for the teachers, school staff, and all public employees of New Jersey," Keshishian said. "He wants them to bear the brunt of the economic crisis.

"He's already said he wants to privatize public education," she added, citing a speech last May 3 in which Christie said every child in New Jersey should have access to a private school voucher.

"Today's comments make it clear that he agrees with Governor Walker that teachers and all public employees should be stripped of their fundamental rights to have a voice in their working conditions and compensation," Keshishian said. Chris Christie has one objective: to destroy New Jersey's public schools in order to pave the way for their privatization. Now, he'll apparently stop at nothing to make teachers and school employees pay for the cost of his education cuts, which have already exceeded a billion dollars."

New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech, who represents one million union workers, offered praise for the Wisconsin demonstrators.

"Collective bargaining is a mainstay of American democracy," Wowkanech said. "The right to negotiate over wages, benefits, and other terms of employment levels the playing field for workers; it allows workers to have a voice on the job which is critical to any true democracy.

"Silencing workers, by eliminating their right to collectively bargain, flies in the face of the worker/employer partnership which has persisted through our country's history and resulted in our nation having the most robust economy and prosperous middle class in the world," Wowkanech added. "The attacks on Wisconsin's public employees are deplorable. The New Jersey State AFL-CIO is fully supportive of Wisconsin's labor and community allies who are fighting a critical battle to safeguard collective bargaining rights and ensure that the voice of working men and women is not something we aim to silence, but instead value and embrace as part of our country's democratic values."