'Hands Off!'

TRENTON, NEW JERSEY

Fired up and hopping mad, government workers marched down to the state capitol one hot day in May to let acting Gov. Richard Codey (D) and the state legislature know that they reject his plan to slash the pensions and benefits of their retired colleagues.

Organized by the state AFL-CIO, more than 1,000 workers from AFSCME and several other unions conveyed their message through speeches, chants and placards.

Shirley Lewis, president of Local 979 (Council 73), says her more than 200 co-workers — at the Menlo Park veterans' home in Edison — fear that their pocketbooks are the targets of the next budget cuts. Speaking before the crowd gathered on the capitol steps, she declared: "Hands off our pensions, hands off our pay and hands off our benefits!"