By Michelle Sartor Lang
Senior Multimedia Digital Producer
Senate President Steve Sweeney held a press conference Wednesday where he called for an investigation into the actions of the New Jersey Education Association. He said union leaders are threatening to withhold political contributions to officials if they don’t approve a pension ballot question.
Sweeney has sent letters to U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman and New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino asking them “to investigate the attempts by leaders of public employee unions to coerce legislators and political organizations into approval of legislation that would seek voter approval of a plan to require scheduled payments to the state pension system.”
“The threats by public employee unions to withhold political contributions unless the proposed constitutional amendment to ramp up pension payments is posted and voted on by next week in the Senate crosses the line. These threats put members of the New Jersey Senate in a position of tying specific official action to the receipt of the campaign contribution,” Sweeney said. “This demand by the union for a quid pro quo transforms the promise of the campaign contribution to bribery. And the threat of withholding that contribution to extortion under state and federal law.”
Sweeney said the action of NJEA leadership should concern “everyone who wants to respect the law making process” in New Jersey.
He said the action is unacceptable. “We will not allow public sector unions to dictate, to intimidate and coerce legislators who want to do the right thing. We will not be bullied,” he said.
Sweeney is himself a member of a union. “I’ve been a union member for close to 40 years. I’ve been an official in my union for over 30 years. And I’ve seen bad things happen and this is as bad as it gets,” he said.
The Senate president made it clear that his call to action is not against teachers in the classroom. “This is not the workers. It is not the teachers, it is not people working every day. It’s leadership in unions making a very, very bad move,” he said.
Union leadership denies Sweeney’s claims, saying members have done nothing illegal or unethical.
“NJEA has been very clear that the pension amendment is our members’ number one priority. Our members are extremely angry that once again, politicians are failing to keep their promise to secure the financial security of their pensions after 20 years of playing games with their retirement funds. Staff and leaders informed senators that Senate President Sweeney has failed to meet his explicit commitment to place the pension amendment on the November ballot, and urged them to call for a vote on the resolution by Aug. 8. Elected officials know that our members will not allow NJEA to support candidates who do not support their priorities,” NJEA President Wendell Steinhauer said in a statement.
“NJEA’s support for politicians is not an entitlement; it is earned. We have a responsibility to use our members’ voluntary political contributions to support their priorities,” he continued. “NJEA has simply informed legislators and party officials that we are withholding support that we are under no obligation to give.”
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