I suspect that the Governor had this in mind all along and the sudden deficit, which occurred because he changed the way books are kept and produced it, was just the dress suit on the turkey. The unions in turn played it stupidly and what could have been an easy win now is a standoff in the world of PR and a standoff they will lose.
Some pundits have nailed it because they note that there is a traditional blame game directed toward state and municipal works and teachers generally which is the core of the groups affected. It is noted but overlooked that the Governor exempted police and firefighters from this union bust - and that these two unions supported him in the election. That alone makes me suspect...that this whole brouhaha is in the form of pre-ordained payback.
I was a teacher in my earlier days. In my first job union membership was required. One couldn't strike or even do a sit in (and this is New Jersey we are talking about but decades ago) so the union was mostly symbolic. After that experience which gained nothing except a couple childish solidarity appearances at board of education meetings I figured it was a waste. In later jobs, and being the lone non-member teacher in a system, I saw the value as I didn't have union protection so the administrator used me as a whipping boy to demonstrate to the other teachers what lay in wait for them if they got out of line. I quit teaching as a result. And there is the tale.
I was an excellent teacher and loved the work. I hated the union but it was necessary not to reward me or bargain for better wages but for protection against idiots who were so incompetent in the classroom that their only hope was administration. They were political animals who kept their nests well feathered and position in life secure first before they thought of anything or anyone else. Teachers join unions for a lot of reasons and unions are pretty inflexible because of the breadth of causes and issues they defend.
The public has a point that this inflexibility isn't necessarily a virtue and stuff like the automatic step by year pay increases are out-moded and basically unfair as is the vacation issues and summers off. Those perks are a punch in the jaw to the normal wage earner who gets no vacation the first year and no free summers.
Well it is President's Day but that won't stop this mess. The unions are going to lose. They don't have the votes - simple as that. The GOP has it figured out in a number of states and will keep whacking at the unions every chance it gets and the feeling is that if they break the unions then they break the democratic party. The teachers and their friends here are caught in the middle. The trains are coming for a head-on collision and they just can't get out of the way.