With a stiff warm wind blowing off of New York harbor and under the shadow of the 9/11 monument in Bayonne, nearly 200 members of the Firemen’s Mutual Benevolent Association from throughout the state of New Jersey endorsed Jon Corzine for governor.
William J. Lavin, president of the FMBA, said the location was appropriate since it served to remind the voting public that hundreds of firefighters, police officers and other rescue workers died on Sept. 11, 2001 “We used to be heroes,” he said.
But he said this perception has changed as a result of an election in which unions are painted as greedy, simply because they want the state to live up to past contract agreements.
Under Republican Gov. Christine Whitman, payments to retirement pensions for firefighters and other public employees were cut back or suspended as part of a budget-cutting effort that has since left the state in even greater financial peril.
Lavin said that under Corzine, some of the inequities of the past have been rectified, and the FMBA is among a host of unions who are backing Corzine rather than return to a Republican administration.
Corzine is running for reelection against Republican challenger and former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie.
The cost of union pensions has been an issue for several decades, with many Republican voters claiming public employees have compensation packages that are out of touch with the times and are far in excess of similar retirement packages people in the private sector receive.
Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith, a former police officer and currently also police director in Bayonne, said budgets can be cut without compromising public services, and that this is a local issue as well as one of the state, and one he has tackled as mayor.
Lavin said Bayonne has one of the strongest local fire unions in the FMBA, and he praised the Bayonne Fire Department because for the most part, firefighters here – operating on a peninsula – have had to deal with disasters on their own without significant assistance from other towns.
Corzine has been accused by Republican campaigns of catering to the state’s unions.
“It is an honorable thing for a person to stand by the working man and unions,” Lavin said. “Gov. Corzine has not forgotten his responsibility to the first responders who are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Strong or week economy, people still need protection.”
Along with firefighters from Bayonne, Corzine was greeted by firefighters from Orange, Paterson, North Hudson, Elizabeth, Maplewood, Hamilton, Summit, Union, Cranford, and Teaneck.
The New York City Fire Department sent over a fire boat, which sent water spouts high into the air to greet Corzine’s arrival.
Smith said Gov. Corzine is someone who understands the importance of protecting citizens, the costs involved, and the sacrifices firefighters make to provide those services.
Properly trained and properly compensated public safety personnel are essential to a safe community.
Corzine, posing among the firefighters, said he was honored by the endorsement.
“FMBA members place their lives and health on the line daily and, in return, they expect their families to be protected and looked after in the event something were to happen while they are out there protecting us,” he said. “Their many years of dedication to a local community is a contract that, when fulfilled, must be rewarded with a secure pension and the health benefits that they have earned.”
During his first term, the governor contributed more than $3.2 billion into the public pension system – more in three and a half years than the previous 15 years combined – and has been committed to ensuring that pensions are available in the future. He also worked to secure federal stimulus dollars that will ensure firefighters have the tools to remain safe on the job.
“The close relationship Jon Corzine enjoys with representatives of public safety is a testament to his commitment to the working men and women of our state and, in particular, to those who put on a uniform each day and insist that nothing is going to happen to the citizens they are sworn to protect,” said Lavin. “The importance of the endorsement from the FMBA is that men and women who are charged with the safety of our state have placed their confidence in Jon Corzine to partner with them to continue to keep our state the safest in the nation.”
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.
‘We used to be heroes’
