Today, we observe Workers Memorial Day and remember the workers – our family, friends, and neighbors – that we have lost to workplace accidents, injuries, or illness.

Workers Memorial Day commemorates the anniversary of when the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) became effective. In addition to creating standards for workplace safety, OSHA establishes workplace safety as a fundamental right of every worker.

This Workers Memorial Day, we mourn our dead by fighting for the living. We need Congress to make safety a priority by strengthening the Occupational Safety and Health Act and give workers a fair chance to raise their own workplace safety standards by passing the PRO Act.

The New Jersey State AFL-CIO stands united, fighting to make the difference to improve workplace safety until the promise of a right to a safe job is fulfilled for every worker.

A version of this article was published on nj.com

Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Administrative District Council, NJ – Apprentice Training and Education Fund

LOCAL 5 APPRENTICE TRAINING SCHEDULE 2022
CLASSES WILL START SATURDAY MARCH 19
ALL CLASSES WILL START AT 7 AM SHARP

March Classes 03/19/2022 03/26/2022	April Classes 4/02/2022 4/09/2022 4/16/2022 4/23/2022 4/30/2022	May Classes 5/07/2022 5/14/2022 5/21/2022
September Classes 09/10/2022 09/17/2022 09/24/2022	October Classes 10/01/2022 10/08/2022 10/15/2022 10/22/2022 10/29/2022	November Classes 11/05/2022 11/12/2022

BRING YOUR TOOLS!
ANY QUESTIONS CALL
TOM DOHERTY
973-227-6650

BAC/ADC Apprentice Training & Education of NJ Local #4 & 5
3281 Route 206, Suite 3 – Bordentown, New Jersey 08505

Dear Sophia,

On behalf of the UI Executive Board, please accept my warm congratulations on receiving the 2021 Harry C. Bates Merit Scholarship.

This is a tremendous honor not only for you and your family, but for BAC as well. We are please and proud to assist a student of your academic caliber in pursuing the higher education of your choice.

I hope you have been enjoying your time at Montclair State University and send all best wishes for your continued success. Let us know how you’re doing from time to time.

Congratulations again!

Sincerely,

Tim Driscoll, President

CC: IU Executive Board, John Capo, Director, Administrative District Council of New Jersey

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[Washington, D.C.] August 10, 2021 – Investment in our nation’s infrastructure is long overdue, and passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) represents an important step in the right direction.

We appreciate President Biden’s leadership, along with the bipartisan coalition that negotiated the framework for IIJA. IIJA provides important investment in many infrastructure priorities including roads and bridges, rail, transit, ports, airports, the electric grid, water systems, and broadband. The IIJA provides an investment of $1.2 trillion, including $550 billion in new spending over five years.

BAC President Tim Driscoll said, “BAC has long supported comprehensive investment in our nation’s infrastructure, broadly defined. While IIJA represents a good start, we must continue to work to make sure that other vital infrastructure needs are not neglected. Investment in our infrastructure including schools, housing, hospitals, public safety and other government buildings is critically important. We must do everything we can to make sure that these priorities are addressed as Congress turns to the Budget Reconciliation process.”

Dear John —

New Jersey Labor Movement Mourns Richard Trumka“The entire American labor movement has lost a champion and a fighter, and New Jersey has lost a close friend,” New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech said of the unexpected passing of AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka. President Trumka died on Thursday, August 5, 2021, surrounded by his family. He was 72. “Rich Trumka had a deep love for New Jersey’s workers and a deep appreciation for our state’s labor movement,” President Wowkanech continued. “He supported our 1 million members in every way possible, just as he supported every single worker in every sector of labor nationwide, from teachers to construction workers to transit workers to nurses and beyond.” “Rich Trumka was a force of nature,” New Jersey State AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Laurel Brennan said. “He devoted his life to ensuring that every man and woman could have what he believed in most – a good union contract with fair wages and a voice in the workplace.”   “Whether it was his concern for the safety and health of frontline workers during the pandemic or fighting for the right to organize, President Trumka put working men and women first,” President Wowkanech said. “He has inspired us since his days as president of the United Mine Workers of America. We will miss his leadership as the voice of America’s labor movement, and we pledge to carry on in his footsteps.”

BY KATHERINE LANDERGAN | 07/08/2021 12:38 PM EDT

Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday signed into law a package of bills his office says will further New Jersey’s efforts to stop employee misclassification.

Background: Misclassification is the practice of improperly classifying an employee as an independent contractor, which the governor’s office said prevents workers from being guaranteed things like overtime, worker’s compensation and disability.

Clamping down on misclassification has been a top priority of the Murphy administration. For example, in a 2018 audit, the state Department of Labor found more than 12,300 cases of workers being misclassified.

What the bills do: Murphy signed four bills: NJ A5890 (20R), NJ A5891 (20R), NJ A5892 (20R) and NJ A1171 (20R). Under the new laws, an Office of Strategic Enforcement and Compliance will be created within the Department of Labor that will track payroll projects to better identify employee misclassification.

The governor’s office said the bills also simplify the process for identifying misclassified workers and implementing stop-work orders at sites where misclassification has occurred.

What they are saying: The New Jersey Business & Industry Association says it is particularly concerned that one of the news laws, A5890, will allow for “overbroad enforcement by the state Labor Commissioner with little oversight or control by the courts.”

“We recognize the need for the state to enforce misclassification law against truly bad actors,” said Ray Cantor, vice president of government affairs for the association. “But businesses have legitimately relied on independent contractors for decades for everything from cleaning office buildings to hauling goods across the country. These bills will have a chilling effect on those businesses who do their level best to comply with the law.

Senate Labor Chair Fred Madden (D-Gloucester) said misclassification is a growing issue in New Jersey.

“It may sound like a simple bureaucratic problem, but it is far more onerous: Misclassification results in hard-working New Jerseyans being denied basic benefits such as overtime, medical leave, unemployment insurance, and safe workplaces, and their unscrupulous employers benefit,” Madden said in a statement. “I’m confident this package of bills will go far in eradicating this practice and ensuring that our workers are treated fairly.”

This Memorial Day, as we remember the heroic men and women who gave their lives defending our freedom, the best way we can honor their bravery is to protect and care for Gold Star families and every other American they left behind.

Just like our deceased warriors, we must protect democracy by ensuring every eligible citizen has equal, easy access to the voting booth. We must protect working families who created the middle class by ensuring that wages and benefits are fair and that workplaces are safe and free from illness and injury. We must protect the right of workers to have a say in their employment conditions by passing the Protecting the Right to Organize Act.

This Memorial Day, as we finally enjoy the start of a summer with fewer COVID-related restrictions, we must pause and thank those who made the ultimate sacrifice for us, and then get to work preserving and improving our American way of life for those fortunate enough to come home.

In Unity,

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