The New Jersey State AFL-CIO joined with over 120 labor and community allies to protest and testify during a Civil Service Commission hearing today to oppose a rule proposal that would undermine Civil Service and make it harder to ensure that public employee promotions are based upon merit and not political favoritism.
The commission is attempting to fast-track changes, by holding only one hearing, which would eliminate or limit important protections like veteran preference, testing and ranking on lists, and layoff rights.
A total of 2,987 letters, from workers, their families, and community allies, were delivered to the commission during the hearing to oppose the rule change and to protest the unfair hearing process limiting public input. Despite the impact of this issue, not one single member of the commission was present, showing an obvious lack of respect for workers and their families.
It is the responsibility of the Civil Service Commission to administer a system that ensures a balance between the needs of management and the protection of employee rights. This proposed rule, in the simplest of terms, dismisses this balanced system in the favor of management. This rule needs further examination and a full vetting before moving forward.
We thank our labor and community allies who were both inside and outside of the hearing to stand in solidarity with us.