TRENTON — More than a dozen New Jersey unions today announced plans to sue Gov. Chris Christie to force him to more than double next year's payment into the public worker pension system.
Christie's proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins this July, which he introduced last week amid a call for sweeping new pension reforms, includes a $1.3 billion pension payment that's nearly two times this year's contribution but still far below what Christie agreed to under a 2011 pension overhaul.
Christie would have to find an additional $1.7 billion in his $33.8 billion proposed budget to pay for the $3 billion pension payment unions are demanding. A spokesman for Christie noted that the $1.3 billion earmarked for pensions would already be the largest payment ever made into the system.
Within a span of two days last week, Christie unveiled his proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, his pension commission released a plan to reinvent public employees' pension and health care benefits, and a Superior Court judge ruled the Republican governor broke the law when he slashed this year's pension payment.
The unions' planned lawsuit could be expected to mirror one when Christie cut pension payments last year. In that case, the unions argued that they were contractually protected under the 2011 law that forced workers to pay contribute more into the pension system, suspended cost-of-living increases and raised the retirement age. The state was supposed to gradually increase its contributions over seven years until reaching the full funding level set by actuaries.
Unions cheered Judge Mary Jacobson's ruling, but many said they wouldn't go along with any proposed changes to benefits unless Christie lived up to the terms of that agreement.
"This governor's continuing disregard for his own pension funding law leaves us no choice but to go back to court to resume this fight in court on behalf of hundreds of thousands of public-sector workers who make their full pension contributions and depend on the modest income they earn in retirement," New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech said in a statement.
Governors have been shortchanging the system for two decades, building toward an $83 billion unfunded pension liability. Christie slashed a combined $2.4 billion in pension payments from the 2014 and 2015 budgets after tax collections rang up far short of expectations. He used the pension funds to fill the budget gap, saying he didn't have a choice.
His administration won the first round of the legal battle that ensued, as Jacobson agreed that the fiscal emergency backed the governor into corner, and making the full pension payment would produce "severe and immediate impacts on vulnerable populations."
But in the more recent decision, Jacobson backed the unions. She ordered Christie to work with state lawmakers to restore the $1.57 billion, potentially blowing a hole into the budget for the fiscal year ending June 30.
"The court is unwilling to rely on what has now become a succession of empty promises," Jacobson wrote.
Christie's office said it will appeal the decision.
A spokesman for Christie said the unions' move ignores the state's fiscal reality.
"It's disappointing that the answer of some public unions to the fundamental and much needed reforms proposed by an independent panel of experts and the governor is yet another lawsuit that ignores the basic math and reality of the situation we face, and that does nothing to solve the problem," Spokesman Kevin Roberts said.
Unions who will sign on to the planned lawsuit include the New Jersey Education Association, which at the same time has agreed to work with Christie on a long-term plan to reduce pension costs. NJEA President Wendell Steinhauer has said the union views the lawsuits and the negotiations over future reforms as separate issues.
Other unions include AFSCME Council 1, American Federation of Teachers New Jersey, Communication Workers of America, Fraternal Order of Police, Health Professionals and Allied Employees, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers locals 194, 195 and 200, New Jersey Principal and Supervisors Association, New Jersey State AFL-CIO, Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 32, Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey, Transport Workers Union Local 225 branch 4, according to a new release.
"Gov. Christie flippantly said he wants to 'flip the script.' But this isn't a House of Cards script," CWA Director Hetty Rosenstein said in a statement. "It's a legal obligation. And ignoring the law is what caused this very problem in the first place, which will never get fixed so long as Christie refuses to meet both his moral and legal responsibilities."
Leaders of the New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association and the New Jersey Fireman's Benevolent Association said they will file a separate lawsuit.
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Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com . Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.