Christie Wants To End Clothing Allowances For State Workers Who Don't Wear Uniforms
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) - New Jersey's independent fiscal watchdog is questioning more than $3 million in clothing allowances given to many state workers, who wear no uniform of any kind. And it's got Governor Christie reeling.
State comptroller Matthew Boxer's finding that thousands of white-collar state workers get $700 annual allowances for clothing, paid in a lump sum, without the need to produce a single receipt.
Half of the workers are not subject to any clothing requirement at all. So why do they get the money? Because their soon-to-expire union contract says they can. It's just one of many perks Governor Chris Christie finds stunning.
"This whole collective bargaining stuff has been such a great education for me. You should see all the crap they've got in there. It's unbelievable."
Christie says there are 90 separate, non-economic issues that have to be addressed, just with the state's largest union. They label Boxer's report on the clothing stipend "misleading".
Christie vows to get rid of the perk, at least for workers who don't need it.
Reported by David Madden, KYW Newsradio
