The ruling was puzzling to New Jersey's public labor unions.

Despite decades of precedent and explicit contract language to the contrary, a state labor commission declared in 2013 that public safety employees in Atlantic County weren't entitled to step increases -- pay raises when workers reach a certain number of years on the job -- after their contract expired.

Then, the influential Public Employment Relations Commission backed that up, ruling step increases after a contract's expiration were no longer eligible for negotiation or arbitration.

With these decisions, it became clear what was happening, public-sector labor professionals said. Led by Gov. Chris Christie's appointees, the agency designed to be the impartial referee resolving disputes between management and labor put its finger on the scale and sided with the government over its unionized employees, they claimed.

"Think of justice with the scales," said David Jones, the retired state police union leader and a labor member of the commission, "Once she was blindfolded, this group at PERC hit her on the head."

Now, union leaders are hopeful for a change. Gov.-elect Phil Murphy, a Democrat who ran a strong pro-labor campaign, made plenty of big promises to the unions, from an ambitious pledge for full pension payments to raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

But if he wants to make an immediate impact on public labor, Murphy can start with fixing PERC, labor leaders said.

"I believe the governor-elect is deeply committed to restoring the independence and neutrality of the agency, said Ira Mintz, a labor attorney who worked for the agency for 25 years before he was fired after Christie took office, "which is what most people who function in the labor relations world would like to see."

PERC'S PAST

Mintz's termination was the Christie administration's opening salvo at PERC, labor leaders said.

At the time, the governor's office said the agency was in need of a new approach.

P. Kelly Hatfield didn't fit labor leaders' idea of a typical PERC chairperson. She'd worked on Christie's campaign and holds a Ph.D in microbiology but had no background in labor law.

Hatfield, who declined to comment for this report, previously said her interest in PERC stemmed from her involvement in negotiations while serving on the Summit town council and school board.

Past PERC chairs typically had extensive labor experience and were attorneys, said Patrick Colligan, president of the Police Benevolent Association. Hatfield's appointment stoked fears that PERC had lost its independence.

"Under Christie, you know you had somebody extremely hostile to public workers' collective bargaining rights. And he appointed someone who knew nothing, had no capacity to run an agency like this," said Hetty Rosenstein, state director of the Communications Workers of America. "And she came in with the intent of destroying those public bargaining rights as opposed to implementing the law."

A spokesman for Christie did not respond to a request for comment.

It wasn't just labor leaders who disagreed with PERC's decisions. The controversial rulings involving Atlantic County and Bridgewater Township were appealed to the state Supreme Court.

Atlantic County had said, and PERC agreed, that continuing to pay longevity bonuses between contracts no longer reflected economic realities or local governments' modern fiscal constraints.

The state Supreme Court reversed PERC, relying on "the basic principles of contract law."

"The point of changing the law on increments was to give management greater pressure at the bargaining table," Mintz said, "and that had never been the role of the agency."

Added Colligan: "Nothing says you've made a mistake like a unanimous Supreme Court ruling."

PERC Commissioner John Bonnani, the Morris County administrator, pushed back against labor leaders' criticism. "The preponderance" of PERC's decisions have been fair and balanced.

"Clearly the Atlantic County case was overturned, and I respect that. I might not agree with that. But I respect that," he said.

"As far as diminishing bargaining rights ... I think that (PERC's decisions) clarified them and streamlined them more than they diminished them," he added.

John Donnadio, executive director of the New Jersey Association of Counties, takes the opposite view from labor of PERC's track record. Prior to the Christie administration, the commission was biased toward public workers, he said.

Under Christie, PERC clearly understood the consequences their decisions would bring about for counties, towns and taxpayers.

"I think it's now a fairer process," Donnadio said. "Their claims are really unfounded, and if anything, (PERC) leveled the playing field for government, and ultimately, for taxpayers."

Rosenstein, however, said unions lost faith they could get a fair shake from PERC, "because they are just looking for any opportunity to undo years and years of precedent."

Mintz, who now represents unions, points to plenty of other rulings he said grievously chipped away at longstanding practices.

PERC took the position that employers could reduce work hours and compensation without having to negotiate out of "managerial prerogative." Employers that were found to have committed an unfair practice by changing a term and condition of employment without first negotiating didn't have to put things back to the way they were. And employees who didn't return to work after being improperly terminated weren't entitled to back pay," he said.

"There's a whole string of little things like that that diminish employees' rights," Mintz said. "I think the Hatfield and Christie philosophy was employees earn too much money. Their benefit package is too generous. And management should be able to make decisions without the interference of unions."

THE FUTURE

Organized labor was a big spender in the gubernatorial contest between Democrat Phil Murphy and Republican Kim Guadagno. Big and small donations from labor unions poured into the Committee to Build the Economy, which spent more than $6 million on advertising, mailers, data and polling services on Murphy's behalf.

Murphy said he's made only one promise to labor: "A stronger and fairer economy in this state. And that includes for organized labor."

But in reality, there have been plenty of promises.

He'll fully fund pensions, a glaring concern among active and retired workers, some of whose funds are at risk of insolvency in a decade or two. He'll divest from the hedge funds that labor groups complain are sapping pensions of hundreds of millions of dollars a year. He'll raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and put billions of dollars back into public schools.

And, maybe less likely to get much public attention, he promised to respect collective bargaining.

As governor, Murphy is expected to appoint new PERC leadership and commissioners, which labor leaders say presents an opportunity to return it to a neutral agency free of political meddling.

The commission includes three public members, two organized labor members and two management members. All are serving on expired terms, with one vacancy.

Labor leaders said they expect balance will be restored.

"I am a huge believer in organized labor. Period. Full stop," Murphy said in a recent interview with NJ Advance Media. "And I think if you're a public-sector union, you've been beaten down needlessly, and promises have been broken. If you're in a building trade, you've been largely ignored. You haven't had enforcement, you haven't had your backs covered."

A spokesman for Murphy declined to comment.

Donnadio, who spent much of 2017 urging the state Legislature to extend a 2 percent cap on the raises police and firefighters can win in arbitration, said there's reason for taxpayers and local government leaders to be concerned about the future of PERC.

Murphy, as a candidate and governor-elect, never publicly took a position on the cap, which those government officials said is crucial to keeping local spending under control.

If Murphy's unwillingness to go against labor on the arbitration cap is an indication of what's to come, "it's certainly going to be a concern" Donnadio said.

"The governor has been very pro-labor. The appointments will come from the governor's office. Certainly, we're mindful of where this might be heading," Donnadio said.

No one in organized labor expects the commission reconstituted under Murphy to give away the store, union bosses said.

Rosenstein said she'd like an agency committed to enforcing the law and intent on changing it.

During Murphy's tenure, such issues as increments need to be clarified legislatively, Mintz said, adding that he'd like to see the state work toward broadening which areas of employment are negotiable.

"All I ever expect is a seat at the table, an opportunity to present our case, an opportunity to influence some decisions, too," Colligan said.

Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.