Subject: For Comms Approval: Talking points for NJ teacher press call
From: "Wei, Shu-Yen" <[email-masked]>
To: "Paustenbach, Mark" <[email-masked]>, "Miranda, Luis" <[email-masked]>, "Walker, Eric" <[email-masked]>, "Walsh, Tom" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 3 May 2016 17:25:28 -0700

Still working on getting a 3rd, female speaker, will circulate 3rd set when speaker is confirmed. Sending the advisory in a separate chain

Assemblyman Diegnan

Hi everyone and thank you for joining the call. This is Assemblyman Pat Diegnan, and I serve as the Chair of the Education Committee.

It has certainly been a busy week in Trenton and nationally as well, with Donald Trump spouting another conspiracy theory and our governor generating buzz as a possible Trump vice presidential pick.

With New Jersey voters going to the polls in about a month, we wanted to take this opportunity to highlight the Republican record on education locally and at the national level, especially during Teacher Appreciation Week.

Governor Christie's behavior toward teachers and public employees for the past six years has been disgraceful. Over and over again, he has tried to devalue the teaching profession and squeeze those who work so hard to shape our children's future. He actually suggested last year that teachers should be making minimum wage<http://bizstandardnews.com/2015/08/23/chris-christie-suggests-teachers-get-minimum-wage-plus-bonuses/>, after he vetoed and stood against<http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/02/nj_democrats_are_pushing_a_15_minimum_wage.html> minimum wage increases.

And he is supporting Donald Trump, who is similarly destructive. Trump has said that he would reduce union power and has vowed to cut the Department of Education.

How is that for investing in New Jersey's future? And our state has resoundingly rejected these wrong-headed policies, Governor Christie's approval ratings have plummeted to 26 percent since he endorsed Donald Trump.

These issues haven't gotten much attention because of the GOP's numerous, other outrageous comments. The Republican party agenda is so extreme that those backward education proposals are just the standard now.

As New Jersey has wrestled with the consequences of Governor Christie's actions and hostility, we cannot allow his policies to spread across the country at the prospect of a Republican president.

Now, I would like to introduce someone who has always been a champion of educators, NJEA President Wendell Steinhauer.

Wendell Steinhauer

Hi everyone, and thank you Assemblyman. As some of you may know, I taught in the Riverside public schools for 27 years. In my time at the NJEA, I've seen first-hand Chris Christie at work.

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week, and Governor Christie has been anything but appreciative of teachers and our work his entire tenure in office. We all remember when he slashed the state education aid by more than $1 billion in his first year in office, leading to thousands of layoffs.

Or when he made reneged on his promise to fund public employee pensions, despite his promise to do so at the negotiation table.

Or when he suggested violence against teachers and teachers unions; he has made multiple references to punching us.

It is certainly no surprise to us that Chris Christie is supporting Donald Trump for President, they are two peas in pod. But when it comes to teachers, we cannot allow what Governor Christie has done to New Jersey to spread to the rest of the country. Trump is on record for saying that he would cut the Department of Education and that he would reduce the power of the teachers' union.

And Ted Cruz is no different. Cruz has also sharply criticized teacher's unions and would eliminate the Department of Education as well, calling it unnecessary and unconstitutional. What's even crazier is that he equated providing federal dollars to education as a drug dealer peddling drugs to junior high kids.

We simply can't imagine what would happen under a these Republican presidents, where Governor Christie's dangerous ideas and policies would surely be allowed to spread.

With New Jersey voters going to the polls in about a month, we are calling out these dangerous ideas and gross misconceptions and asking voters to take a stand against them.

Thank you. I would like to now turn it over to [3rd speaker]