Chris Christie: Union-Buster?

We haven't seen the like of this since a rosy-cheeked Ronald Regan fired every last air traffic controller in America...

New Jersey' governor Chris Christie, as reported yesterday, has thrown down the gauntlet to the New Jersey Educator's Union: Accept a pay freeze and contribute 1.5% of your salary towards your benefits, and he'll rescind $800 million in cuts, saving hundreds of jobs and protecting educational standards for all of the state's kids. If you refuse, well....the hatchet is coming. And don't ever tell him again that it's all about the children...

It's a no-lose for Christie. And while the union balks at any type of giveback, all across the state the guns are turning on the 800-pound gorilla known as the NJEU, and their $130 million annual income, extorted from the teachers in the name of "dues":

New Jersey 101.5 FM’s David Matthau reports labor law experts say we may never really know how much money the NJEA has, because as a non-profit, like churches and charities, it does not pay taxes on the dues collected. NJEA is not required to open its books. The union does not have to spend all of the money it takes in, and no one is sure how they’re spending their money, or how much is squirreled away in surplus...

...The NJEA has bullied lawmakers and made so many enemies over the years even those who oppose Christie are enjoying seeing the NJEA get what they think it has coming. So why doesn’t someone examine and perhaps challenge the NJEA’s tax exempt status?

A commenter write about the union's status, and the law:

There are different types of non-profit corporations – 501C(3), 501C(4), etc. Some types of non-profits are permitted to participate in whatever type of political activity they wish, including campaign donations. Some types have separate funds for political purposes. None are permitted to use federal money for lobbying purposes.
The NJEA is probably free to make campaign contributions with membership dues, since those dues do are not directly or indirectly federal funds.
Non-profit status is a privilege, and that status can be challenged or revoked if the organization does not adhere to applicable financial regulations.

They are accountable to the IRS because they have been granted non-profit status. As a NJ corporation, they are also accountable to NJ.
If they receive any grants – federal or state – they must account for how those funds were used....

Christie has pushed the union's back to the wall. If they refuse to meet his requests, he can blame them for the ensuing layoffs/cutbacks. He can continue to question what they do with their $130 million/year, raising its profile to the point where every time a NJ resident sees a political ad from the union, they will be muttering, "So this is how they spend their money, and this is why my kid's programs were cut?"

Shame on the union. And if they do decide to hold their ground, and force the layoffs of teachers and administrators, then let's hope they squirreled away some of that $130M somewhere to help the unemployed educators. For if they are left high and dry by the union - along with all the state's kids - there will be hell to pay, not just from the voters, but from the rank-and-file...