TomBruno.org

***SPECIAL BULLETIN***

At a June 29th Meeting between the Department of Human Services, the Department of Corrections and  the Department of Treasury, Privatization was once again brought up.  This time, they want to privatize Food Service!  This was beaten back twice before when Tom was Chairman of the Local's Privatization Committee. 

The key to successfully beating these efforts is in the timing.  So who will lead the Local's Fight and when will they start?  The game has already begun and once again, we are unprepared!




***URGENT MESSAGE TO OUR SUPPORTERS***

TOM HAS WON HIS P.E.R.S. ELECTION!
THANKS GO OUT TO ALL WHO SUPPORTED HIM!

Despite Carolyn Wade trying to thwart his re-election as a Trustee representing state workers on the Public Employee Retirement System Board by refusing to allow a proper motion to endorse his candidacy, and a concerted effort by the CWA District 1 Area Office Director, Hetty Rosentstein to endorse a management candidate and falsely accuse Tom of authoring comments on a political blog, Tom won his election by an even wider margin than his last election.  

One must wonder why they are so fearful of Tom's success.

In the final tally, Tom had 61% and his management rival received 39% of the vote.  The ballots went out to over 89,000 eligible PERS voters.

This landslide victory proves that Tom's record of protecting workers overrode the personal politics employed by certain individuals.

Tom remains a staunch advocate on the P.E.R.S. Board for his New Jersey state worker constituents, and public workers in general. 

SO LET'S RECAP....

Wade has refused to endorse one of her own members, twice (and was on the wrong side both times).

SHE HAS ALLOWED:

RIVERFRONT PRISON TO CLOSE 

HALF OF VINELAND DEVELOPMENTAL CENTER
TO BEGIN TO CLOSE WITHOUT OBJECTING TO THE LACK OF A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE MATTER AS REQUIRED UNDER SECTION 2 of P.L. 1996 c.150 (C.30:1-7.4) - FORMERLY KNOWN AS A-969 (A BILL TOM PERSONALLY ASSISTED IN WRITING TO PROTECT PUBLIC WORKERS IN STATE INSTITUTIONS IN DDD, MENTAL HEALTH, CORRECTIONS AND MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS).

PLUS, SHE HAS IDLY SAT AND WATCHED PRIVATIZATION PLANS GET UNDERWAY.

AND THEN THERE IS THE CONTRACT & MOA FIASCO:

• State workers got a 2 year wage freeze (Last raise was July 2008... next one is July 2010);
  
• State workers took a 4% cut in pay (10 furlough days);
  
•  The Paid Leave Bank (PLB) days that they earned and were supposed to be carried over from year to year now are under review to be eliminated if not used by June 30, 2011;
  
• State workers no longer get SLI if they get hurt on the job;
  
• Our newly hired brothers and sisters, largely minorities, will NOT have non-forfeitable benefits after 5 years, nor will they have disability retirement, nor will they be in a Defined Benefit Plan;
  
• The "essential personnel" designation was never corrected despite being promised to have it done within months of our ratifying the contract in 2007;
  
• The salary upgrades for various State worker titles were never done, despite promises to have it done within months of ratifying the contract in 2007 (long before the economic collapse);
  
• The $1 Billion per year that the Governor was going to put into the Pension NEVER happened, even though our contract finally gave us the "teeth" we needed to force him to do so according to Carolyn Wade;
  
• The health care plan that was to be BETTER than the original continues to be an inferior plan that has denied prescriptive drugs to several of our members who desperately need them for their cancer treatments and for their organ transplants.
  
  We have paid our dues faithfully.  We have voted in favor of a contract that was NEVER completed before we voted and based our vote on promises made to us by Carolyn Wade.  We have endured these pay cuts and freezes and attacks on our pension benefits and watched as we allowed our children's futures to be flushed down the toilet at the hands of politicians that we used to have influence over.
  
  Ask Carolyn Wade if she took a pay freeze or any furlough days?  Ask her if she has to pay a single DIME for her prescriptions without getting reimbursed for her co-pays?
  
  It's easy to tighten the belt when it's someone else's belt!
  
  
  
  
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GOT MORE RAISE... YET LIKING IT LESS??? 

CLICK HERE to find out more.

In the coming months, there will be mailings and regional meetings so that I can be available for questions or to simply meet many of you and to rekindle old friendships of those of you I had the pleasure of serving during my 10 years as a staff rep at the Local and my nearly 18 years on the Executive Board.  

Keep sending me names and addresses of your co-workers who have asked for my mailings.  Our list is growing everyday!  We are now OVER 2,000 names!!  Your work has been truly outstanding!

Additionally, there will be many early mornings and late evenings as I make our way around the state.  I want to stress the importance of this campaign and of your involvement in it. 

The choice is simple:

Someone new, or more of the same. 

It’s your choice.

Click the Play Button below
to hear Tom's rallying song.

Briarwood Bargaining Committee

Tom (far left) is an experienced negotiator,

Tom is also politically savvy:

Tom talks with Congressman Patrick Kennedy about our members' issues.

Tom is shown here as he educates activists:

Tom has been used nationally as an expert in privatization and community mobilization.

Speaker of the New Mexico House asks for advice:

Privatization has no friends. Watch for low-balled bids.

Local 1040 Departmental Waste Committee

Tom (center right) chairs the committee meeting.

The Joint Budget Oversight Committee Hearing

Tom analyzes the state's budget and testifies on it annually.