Christie takes NJEA to court over public worker health care changes

TRENTON — The state attorney general filed a court order on Wednesday to compel representatives of the powerful teacher's union to stop boycotting meetings about health care benefits for public employees, and hours later Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson agreed with the state's request to hold a hearing on the issue.

Members of the New Jersey Education Association had skipped a meeting of the School Employees' Health Benefits Commission as recently as Monday in an effort to block Gov. Chris Christie's administration from pushing through changes in health care coverage for retirees.

"The NJEA commissioners' deliberate absence is in violation of the law, the public trust, and their fiduciary duty," the state's brief said.

Wendell Steinhauer, president of the education association, called the order "another attempt by Governor Christie to manipulate the commission into making changes in retiree health benefits without following the legal process."

Read more: http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/08/christie_taking_njea_to_court_over_health_care_cha.html