Underpaid Public School Teachers in NJ

New Jersey public school teachers are underpaid, not overpaid
Report • By Jeffrey H. Keefe • February 15, 2017
Summary: Public school teachers earn 16.8 percent less in weekly wages and 12.5 percent less in weekly total compensation (wages and benefits) than other full-time workers in New Jersey. An analysis of hourly compensation shows that teachers earn 13.7 percent less in wages and 9.4 percent less in total compensation.

So concludes a paper put out yesterday by the Economic Policy Institute (latest 990 filing) with a mission:

This report describes the results of research into New Jersey public school teacher compensation. This research was initiated in response to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s attacks on New Jersey teachers’ unions and his allegations that New Jersey public school teachers are overpaid. In our analysis, we seek to answer three questions about teacher compensation in New Jersey:

• Are New Jersey public school teachers overcompensated?

•  How do public school teachers compare with other New Jersey employees in terms of pay equity across gender, racial, and ethnic categories?

• Does participation in unions increase public school teacher compensation?

“Dreadful” NJEA

Chris Christie let off a little steam today, primarily directed against the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA).  According to nj.com:

Christie unleashed against the NJEA in his first public comments to reporters after Sweeney asked prosecutors to investigate threats by that union and the Fraternal Order of Police to withhold all campaign contributions over a feud about a voter referendum on public worker pensions.

“This is a dreadful group of leaders and for the Senate president and others in the Democratic caucus to join that chorus, I welcome them — very late — to the amen chorus about the fact that the NJEA is the single most destructive political force in this building,” Christie said, referring to the New Jersey Statehouse.

“It’s not even close. There’s not even a close second to these people,” he said. “(They’re) the most selfish, destructive people in this building — and everybody in both parties knows it.”

No details but the practice of purchasing politicians and abetting a system of legalized bribery is certainly deplorable though for Christie (the sellout king) only when others do it.

However, where Christie has a point (though I’m sure he does not yet realize it) is that the NJEA (like several other unions) has done a terrible job in getting benefits for their members funded properly but when it comes to their own Defined Benefit plan: