NJ State Worker Furloughs Could Begin This Monday

NEW JERSEY - The Communication Workers of American and the Murphy administation's plan that they say will save thousands of state workers' jobs could lead to furloughs beginning as early as Monday.

Indeed, a copy of the proposed agreement is that those 70,000 working families represented by the CWA will have to forgo raises and agree to 12 furlough days, some of which employees would be eligible for unemployment.

"This agreement will provide substantial cost savings to the state and prevent employee layoffs," Murphy said at his daily COVID-19 briefing Tuesday. "We have worked hard with CWA to structure these furloughs to maximize state savings while minimizing the financial impact on our employees. We cannot hide the impact this public health emergency is having on our state finances. I thank CWA's leaders and employees for coming to the table in partnership to address this reality while ensuring that as many New Jerseyans as possible remain gainfully employed."

According to their website, the Communications Workers of America (AFL-CIO) represents more than 70,000 working families in New Jersey, including more than 40,000 state workers, 15,000 county and municipal workers, and thousands of workers in the telecommunications and direct care industries.

According to the CWA contract with the state, CWA employees received a 2 percent wage increase last year and were scheduled for another 2 percent wage increase in July.

That will not happen under the terms of the new deal, which will see a wage increase of 2 percent in July 2021 and an additional wage increase in December 2021 and July 2022.

"So, you will get all of your wage increases, but you will get some of them later than expected. We did not lose any raises," the CWA said in a memo to members. "There is also no impact on increments. You will continue to get increments."

The furlough proposal is slightly more complicated. There are two sets of furlough days that total together 12 days. Here is the breakdown:

• Ten CARES ACT furlough days between June 29 – July 31 eligible for Unemployment - The first set of furlough days will be taken from June 29 through July 31. There are 10 of those days. These days are eligible for unemployment, and for the majority of members, they can take these days without any loss of pay. In some cases, members will take home more money than they do under their regular pay.
• Two Holiday Furlough Days that are Unpaid - Then there will be two other furlough days. One is the day after thanksgiving this year and the other will be Presidents Day in 2021. These are unpaid furlough days.
• Total of 12 Days - The combination of these two sets of furloughs is 12 days. However, not everyone will take 12 days. A maximum of five unpaid days, so no one will suffer a loss of pay more than five days has been negotiated. So, if taking the CARES Act furloughs puts an employee in the position of going over the five days they will not have to take the holiday furloughs.

While there are some exemptions, generally speaking CWA members making less than $68,000 annually will see more money because of the $600 in additional funds provided by the federal government.

"In New Jersey – if furloughs are in lieu of layoffs – and if they are scheduled properly, then the days you are on furlough are eligible for unemployment. Due to the CARES ACT, if you get unemployment right now, you also get enhanced unemployment of $600 a week. Even if you are furloughed for two or three days, you still get the entire extra $600," the CWA said. "That is what makes now the time to take the maximum number of furlough days, and that is why we have a large number of furlough days to take within the month – because after July 31, there may no longer be the $600."

The CWA officials noted that there is a no layoff agreement in the deal that protects members through Dec. 31, 2021 and have urged members to vote "yes" on the proposal.

"We traded on one hand a deferral of the raise, furlough days where we have capped the losses anyone can have at five days but where the vast majority of our members will lose two days of pay, for, on the other hand," CWA officials said. "PLB days for those who do experience some loss of pay plus ironclad job security for everyone through the rest of this year and next year."

Last month, Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio painted a stark picture of the fiscal challenges the Garden State faces in both the near and the long term as impact of COVID-19 on the state coffers is starting to be felt.

"Our economic analysts, like analysts around the country, have been working around the clock to try to gauge the short and long term impact of this crisis," she said at the time. "Based on a number of economic assumptions, we are now a New Jersey potentially facing a shortfall of nearly $10 billion dollars through the end of fiscal year 2021. That is a jaw-dropping figure."

The employee ratification of CWA agreement is expected this week.

Thanks for reading! Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Have a news tip you'd like to share? Or maybe you have a press release you would like to submit or a correction you'd like to request? Send an email to russ.crespolini@patch.com

Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter. You can also have them delivered to your phone screen by downloading, or by visiting the Google Play store.