N.J. State Workers Safe ‘No Matter What Happens With Economy’

New Jersey’s biggest public-workers union is voting on a furloughs agreement with Governor Phil Murphy’s administration that guarantees no layoffs through December 2021 “no matter what happens with the economy,” members are being told.

The Communications Workers of America, in documents posted on its website for 35,000 members, said the deal was better than the concessions it agreed to in the wake of the financial downturn. During that time, the state’s unemployment rate climbed to a high of 9.8%. Amid the coronavirus-induced shutdown that began in March, joblessness surged to 16.3%.

“The crisis we face now is much, much ...