New Jersey unions rally against proposed benefits cuts
(NJ State House Tours)
TRENTON, N.J. - Thousands of union members have crowded around New Jersey's legislative annex, even spilling into the street, to protest Senate President Steve Sweeney's calls to cut some worker benefits.
Organizers estimated at least 3,000 people attended the Thursday protest, coinciding with a busy legislative day in Trenton.
Protesters with the New Jersey Education Association, Communication Workers of America and other unions wore red T-shirts and chanted slogans aimed at the Democratic Senate president. They also rallied in support of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy's proposed tax hike on millionaires, propping up a giant inflatable pig smoking a cigar and wearing a top hat
Sweeney says he won't post the tax hike for a vote this year.
He's championed a bipartisan plan that includes overhauling public worker pensions and cutting retiree health benefits.