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We Need Your Contact Info
In order to serve you better SUILC is asking that you update your contact information with your personal e-mail address. Members can go to their respective organization's website or email (see below).
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SUILC Officers & Staff
Officers:
Alfred C.
Laubsch, Jr. - President (IBEW LU30)
Jerry Calamia - Treasurer (PSMA)
Paula Howard - Recording Secretary (IBEW LU30)
Staff:
Barry Chalofsky - Webmaster/Newsletter
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Welcome IBEW Managers, PSMA Members and Retirees
The Stronger United Independent Labor Council (SUILC) is composed of members of IBEW Local 30, the Public Sector Managers' Association (PSMA), and the PSMA Retirees' Network.
The SUILC is an independent body that represents the interests of its underlying members through advocacy, communications, outreach, union activities, and organizing support. SUILC is the first New Jersey labor council representing three groups: managers covered by IBEW Local 30, managers covered by PSMA, and retired state employees covered by the PSMA Retirees' Network.
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Teachers Lobby For Reduced Health Insurance Costs
NJTV News Online/January
18, 2019
Members of New Jersey's largest teachers union rallied in Trenton yesterday, demanding that lawmakers and the governor support a package of bills that would, among others things, lower their healthcare premiums.
The New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) came out in force against a 2011 law called Chapter 78 that mandates them to pay a share of their health insurance. They said that premium increases are outpacing their annual raises and, as a result, they're losing money. They're backing a bill that would link their premium share to a percentage of their salaries rather than to healthcare policies negotiated by school districts.
The bill also requires a cap on what teachers pay. NJEA president Marie Blistan said union members would still pay toward health benefits "but there would be a cap that would stop the negative take-home pay that is occurring."
The School Boards Association opposes the bills, asserting that changing Chapter 78 rules could result in tax hikes and layoffs. "If you limit the employee contributions, who then pays the difference? And that would be the employer - namely, the taxpayer ... and going forward we should really be concentrating on ways to control the cost of health coverage," said Frank Beluscio, deputy executive director of the New Jersey School Boards Association.
The bills have been posted for debate in committee
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Treasury Not Worried About Slow Revenue Growth In Early FY2019 - Should It Be?
John Reitmeyer/NJ Spotlight/January 22, 2019
New Jersey's fiscal year is a little more than halfway over and thus far there's been only modest revenue growth. That's something of a surprise considering a series of tax hikes were enacted over the summer, but top Department of Treasury officials are not yet sounding alarms.
One reason for their optimism is that they expect the recently ended tax-amnesty program will net at least the $200 million in back taxes originally budgeted.
The state's new tax for online sales has also gotten off to a slow start as companies grow accustomed to it, suggesting revenue from that source should eventually become more robust.
Counting on the end of fiscal year
Treasury is also downplaying concerns about the overall pace of tax collections: The first half of the fiscal year closed at the end of December with revenues up about 2 percent compared with the same period last year. Overall growth will have to hit 7.5 percent through the end of June to keep the budget balanced, which is a requirement of the state constitution. While some fear there may be too much ground to make up, Treasury officials are more sanguine heading into the back end of the fiscal year, which always makes or breaks a budget thanks to April income-tax filings.
"Right now, in the aggregate, we're on track," said Catherine Brennan, the state's deputy treasurer, at a recent public-finance meeting in New Brunswick that was sponsored by the New Jersey Bar Association.
In all, the fiscal 2019 budget totals $37.4 billion, which is the largest in the state's history. It relied on a series of tax hikes to help support an increase in spending on things like K-12 education, public-employee retirements, and mass transit. Among them were higher income-tax rate on earnings over $5 million and a higher corporate-tax rate for companies with more than $1 million in annual profits. New taxes were also established for ridesharing and home-sharing services, and for online sales and sports betting following recent federal court rulings.
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Steamed Senate President Challenges Gov. Murphy To A Debate Over How To Fix N.J.
Pension Woes
By Brent Johnson/NJ.com/January 26, 2019
State Senate President Stephen Sweeney, New Jersey's highest-ranking state lawmaker, has challenged Gov. Phil Murphy - a fellow Democrat but frequent rival - to a debate on how to fix the state's public-worker pension problem.
Sweeney, D-Gloucester, issued the challenge Friday during an interview with NJTV, saying he'd be willing to debate Murphy "anywhere in this state, side by side."
A spokesman for Murphy's office declined to comment.
The challenge comes one day after NJ Advance Media published a story about how a top Murphy aide discussed with liberal activists during a conference call how they could fight back against "a false narrative" she believes Sweeney is pushing against public-worker unions.
The moved irked Sweeney, adding a new chapter to the strained relationship between New Jersey's top two elected state officials.
Sweeney has issued a report called the "Path to Progress," which outlines recommendations for how to save the state government money. One major suggestion is that New Jersey may need to make more cuts to public-worker pensions and health benefits, which swallow a large portion of the taxpayer-funded state budget each year.
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Investing Garden State's Public Retirement Funds In Other States' Farms
John Reitmeyer/NJ Spotlight/January 31, 2019
New Jersey's rich agricultural heritage accounts for its designation as the Garden State, but the state pension system is now looking to farms elsewhere in the country to boost its public-worker retirement funds.
State pension officials said yesterday they are finalizing an investment worth up to $100 million in a fund managed by Homestead Capital, a private-equity firm that specializes in generating returns from top-earning farms in the West, Midwest and Mississippi Delta regions.
The proposed investment will be the pension system's first-ever stake in a fund that targets U.S.-based farming as a profitmaking strategy. Homestead Capital also fits in with the pension system's new emphasis on socially conscious investing, pension officials said yesterday during a public meeting of the New Jersey State Investment Council.
"It's a new space for us," said Adam Liebtag, the panel's chairman. "We're not getting in at the height of the market. We're getting in on the lower end and we're going to try to get some returns over the long haul."
New Jersey's $70 billion public-employee pension system allowed its fund managers to buy stakes in private equity and other classes of so-called alternative investments starting in the early 2000s, after a major stock-market downturn that hit the system's more conventional investments particularly hard. The idea was to diversify to help shield the pension system from fluctuations in the stock market; such investments can also help to boost overall returns.
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IBEW Local 30 Announces
Winners of 2018 Scholarship
IBEW Local 30 is pleased to announce the winners of its 2018 College Scholarships. Scholarships are available to children of full members and book awards are available to full members. Each scholarship is for one thousand ($1,000) dollars for each for full member's child(ren).
Ten $1,000 Scholarships were awarded.
CONGRATULATIONS to All of
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PSMA Retirees' Network
The PSMA Retirees' Network is pleased to announce the following policy change:
FREE
First
Year Membership
for all
retired State employees
!
(
effective January 2018.)
If you know a retired state employee who wishes to join refer them to the PSMA Website.
Please Note: Invoices for Annual Dues will be sent out in February for all members who joined prior to July 2018.
The Retirees' Network sent out Special Notices to it's members on the Conversion to Aetna, NJ State Income Tax Pension Exclusion and the Retiree Wellness Program. To view those notices Click Here.
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