June 3, 2009 - 1:28pm
News

Republican leaders upset over Corzine labor deal

The legislature’s two top Republicans criticized Gov. Corzine for allegedly making concessions to a public workers’ union for fear that their protest of his campaign kickoff would force Vice President Joe Biden to cancel his appearance there.

The Star-Ledger reported yesterday that the Corzine Administration, fearing Biden would not cross the picket line, made a tentative agreement with the Communications Workers that they would take 10 additional furlough days in exchange for “bankable” personal days they can use in the future.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean (R-Westfield) accused Corzine of using taxpayer money for political gain.

"It's one thing to make concessions to win long-term benefits for New Jersey. It's quite another to do so to avoid one day of bad publicity. Taxpayers should be told today how much this purely self-serving political move will cost them,” he said.

Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Parsippany-Troy Hills) called the deal a “political embarrassment,” and requested more information about the arrangement.

 “This deal has implications on the ongoing budget deliberations, but there is no information about what affect this arrangement will have,” he said.  “The governor needs to disclose the financial benefits from this deal so that taxpayers and legislators can make an informed decision.

Matt Friedman is a PolitickerNJ.com Reporter and can be reached via email at matt@politicsnj.com.