I guess the Editors of the newspaper can't relate with Police since
they have the right to strike when they are unhappy with their contract.
Police have no choice. They are not legally permitted to strike. As for
being given the choice of taking a pay cut or losing your job, Unions
can never give in. Job security would be directly tied to the constant
mismanagement of City officials and their failed budgets. Shame on the
Editors for a very unfair opinion.
Lets not forget that Perth Amboy police are in the middle of a
contract, they would have had to open up an existing contract in order
to entertain a deal from the city- which ultimate would have affected
ALL unions state wide...we should be thankful they held strong.
-Anonymous
I wouldn't march with him, let him go screw!!!!
donald payne and tom giblin are filthy political sell outs.
Tara, wife of a Newark Police Sergeant
Once again, Police and their unions don't seem to understand that
They have got to get Their side of the story out to the public, whether
it's during contract negotiations or a new ordinance. The "blue wall' of
silence does not work in these situations. What the heck, I can't tell
if the editorial is Fair & Balanced, but I'd like a neutral "3rd party"
to tell me What is True. I don't have that here. And guys, let's not be
so thin-skinned about criticism. This was not an anti-law enforcement
stance, it was about a bungled contract negotiation strategy. These
issues should have been addressed and discussed and reported to the
community Way before push came to shove, leading to layoffs. Sure it's a
tough job, but you knew that when you joined. What the heck, you can
always become a teacher.
-Anonymous
I'm sure that prior to have hired officer the municipal government
must have allocated the funds to pay them. This is nothing more than an
abuse of Municipal government power.
-Anonymous
In regards to the Home News Tribune, its a Democratic Political
newspaper and Mayor Vas is a big influence. You don't here about
the Police dept being down 9 cops from retirement plus 8 from layoffs.
The 4 that were hired back are just temporary until the new fiscal
budget comes out in July 2007 and they'll be laid off again.
If you read that trash of a newspaper you never read anything
negative about the city inc. the actual high crime they keep everything
quiet. If it wasn't for Mayor Vas the city wouldn't be in
this situation and look at all his cronies getting big raises for non
essential jobs.
-Anonymous
These reporters use any means necessary to bash cops in this state.
I find that many people are jealous of cops, because of our salaries and
benefits. They see us as lazy crybabies, making too much money for the
"amount of work that they think we do!" Remember, we don't get paid for
what we do, we get paid for what we may have to do!!
-Anonymous
This is bull. The NJ state PBA office should step in and use its
resources to compete with the newspaper and set the record straight with
the 60,000 people reading the papers.
-Anonymous
A piece of advice, make sure that everyone in these forums, including
Woodbridge, Carteret, South Amboy, Sayreville read these postings. They
need to know what is going on in Perth Amboy and how the Home News and
newspapers portray our finest.
Also, this may help the other police officers and their unions when
they encounter the same situation. The PBA in Perth Amboy set an
example for other unions to follow.
-Anonymous
The Home News should only be blaming Vas for this financial crisis.
Did they forget the Vas Majal and the budget submitted to the State of
NJ without any documentation. The famous letter for a friend child
convicted of child molestation" this is really sick".
Let's us not forget the perks that his friends receive. The lottery
for homes now in question! A Failed Insurance Business. Dear PBA we are
so proud that you stood your ground and finally unmask Vas.
Kudos to the PBA and our police department.
-Anonymous
My suggestion hit THNT in their pockets, boycott the newspaper do not
buy it. I no longer give them my hard earned money.
-Anonymous
What the paper failed to mention is the fact that while the City
negotiated a contract which they never intended to fulfill, since they
didn't have the resources to pay for it, the Mayor gives his girlfriend
and some cronies an 18% pay increase.
Who has ever heard of an 18% pay increase to "non-essential"
employees and at a time when the City is in financial crisis?
The PBA should not have had to negotiate a contract which was already
negotiated and was in full force and effect, period!
The Mayor negotiated in bad faith to begin with so Kudos to the PBA
for standing their ground. Shame on the Homes News Tribune for taking
the position they took.
-Anonymous
How about the bashing NJ law enforcement, particularly in Bergen
County, took from a reporter from the Bergen Record with regards to our
salaries and benefits. Basically he blamed our high salaries for the out
of control property taxes. I'm sure he sleeps well at night thanks to
the over-paid cops he bashed.
-Anonymous
They hire 8 cops and then don't have the money to keep them?
-Anonymous
It's funny, a guy in my Dept stopped a car a few days ago and the
driver says, "I'm not sure if it means anything, but I work for the Star
Ledger."
I guess he doesn't read their paper either.
-Anonymous
Wonder if Perth Amboy elected officials get health benefits? What
did other municipal workers give back? Why am I only reading about
public safety workers?
I guess this just brings more questions and never has any
answers...like most editorials.
-Anonymous
First off, I have noticed a lot of papers are very anti-police. Most
often a lot of what you read about Police Departments is something
negative that they have done. On rare occasions you read about how they
did something heroic.
In all honesty the fact that Perth Amboy was in financial trouble is
due to the Mayor and the rest of the town government. There is no reason
a Police Officer or Firefighter should ever have to defer their raise or
be asked to sacrifice their income. These men and women put their lives
on the line everyday to protect the people of their community, but yet
you ask them to sacrifice.
Well how dare you Mr. Mayor. Put your pay on the line, raise taxes,
stop spending money on useless things that are needed in the town. As
far as the media goes, sit down and shut up. Lets see what would happen
if someone came to you and said our newspaper is in trouble we can
either do two things...one would be to take your raise or two let go of
a couple of people. What would you say? Why don't you write about that,
or write about how you people stick your nose in people's personal lives
and don't think about anyone else. Write about that.
-Anonymous
A smaller raise! The P.B.A. was trying to extend an already
meager raise one year. Its past practice of the "Administration" to take
and never give back. Not this time.
-Anonymous
It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that the media doesn't like
cops.
-Anonymous
Maybe if the police would have just taken a smaller raise, none of
this would have had to happen.
-Citizen Kane
