Chris Christie Fails Fact Check

Chris Christie is a pretty popular guy these days, in part because he has a reputation as a straight shooter. But the New York Times took a look at some of his recent statements, and concluded that “some do not stand up to scrutiny.” For example:

• Christie said that unions “go around collective bargaining when they don’t get what they want … and they go to the Legislature.” But until recently, pension changes could only be made through the legislature in New Jersey, not through collective bargaining, so they had no choice.

• “There are dozens of states in this country that don’t have collective bargaining for public workers at all,” Christie said last week. Actually, there are only eight—mostly in the Southeast—plus a few in which only some public workers, like police and firefighters, can still bargain.
• Christie often says state unions got everything they wanted from predecessor Jon Corzine. Actually, the talks were contentious, sparked protests, and resulted in the workers accepting a higher retirement age, and bigger contributions towards their own pensions and health care.
• State worker health care benefits “up until this last spring were free, and I mean free,” Christie said last week. Actually, workers have been contributing 1.5% of their salaries toward premiums since 2007.