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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The 1 million members of the New Jersey labor movement are thrilled to congratulate our Union Brother Marty Walsh on his confirmation as secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor. The Senate voted 68-29 on March 22, 2021.

“Our Brother Marty Walsh – a second-generation dues-paying member of LIUNA – is a man who knows the value of work,” New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech said. “The Department of Labor is now being led by a man who has remembered his rank-and-file roots in every position he’s held.”

Former Boston Mayor Walsh, who worked his way from laborer to union leader to political force, always stayed close to the people of the working-class neighborhood where he grew up. As mayor of a large, diverse city with workers in every sector of our labor movement, he devoted his career to the growth of the middle class.

His appointment to the Labor Department, where he will enforce laws and regulations that protect workers and ensure safe and healthy workplaces, is proof that President Joe Biden’s administration is pro-union and pro-worker.

“We see rays of hope with someone as knowledgeable as Marty Walsh at the helm of the Labor Department,” President Wowkanech said. “President Biden’s selection of Secretary Walsh shows he is sincere in his commitment to our nation’s workers, and we are deeply grateful to the president.”

In Unity,

Charles Wowkanech President	Laurel Brennan Secretary-Treasurer

The New Jersey State AFL-CIO thanks Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-19) for posting three pro-labor bills today and thanks all the legislators who voted in favor of these pieces of legislation.  All three bill have already passed the State Senate and are now on Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk for consideration.

“Buy American” legislation (A-5064: Verrelli / Giblin).  The bill passed unanimously. The bill requires the use of American-manufactured steel and iron in public road and bridge construction. If signed, the law will take a big step forward in creating manufacturing jobs throughout the nation.  The Steelworkers Union was a strong proponent of the measure and we thank the prime sponsors – both union leaders – for their advocacy.

A-5376/S-3414 (DeAngelo / Egan) expands the permissible use of project labor agreements to additional construction projects and also promotes workforce diversity.  The bill passed by a vote of 59-11-3.  We thank the prime sponsors, both of whom are local union leaders, for their advocacy.

Please CLICK HERE to see the full roll call of the vote

A-2487 (Quijano / Benson): The “Healthy Terminals Act,” advocated for by SEIU 32BJ, UNITE HERE and RWDSU, would require certain airport and train station workers to be paid increased wages and benefits. The bill passed by a vote of 47-25-0.

Please CLICK HERE to see the full roll call of the vote

The New Jersey State AFL-CIO thanks all the affiliated unions that worked tirelessly to advance these bills and we respectfully ask for Governor Murphy’s support in enacting them into law.

In Unity,

Charles Wowkanech President	Laurel Brennan Secretary-Treasurer

BAC U.S. Members:

BAC annually awards three scholarships to students whose parents or step-parents are U.S. BAC members. The stipends are $5,000 per year for up to four years – up to $20,000 total.

To be eligible for the scholarship, students must:

• – Be a senior in high school
• – Plan to enter college in the fall of 2021
• – Be the child or stepchild of a U.S. member in good standing of a BAC Local

The U.S. Bates Scholarship program is administered through International Scholarship and Tuition Services (ISTS).  

The application deadline is March 31, 2021. ISTS will notify all applicants of the selection results in June 2021.

To access the online application, please visit https://aim.applyists.net/IUBAC. Please click here to view a list of frequently asked questions about the scholarship.

Questions? Call or email the BAC Education Department at 1-888-880-8222 ext. 3887 or [email protected].

Released on February 3, 2021 on njaflcio.org

With the expected re-introduction in Congress of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act on Thursday, February 4 – the PRO Act – America’s workers will begin their campaign to achieve the meaningful federal labor law reforms they have been seeking for decades. The PRO Act, which was blocked by the previous anti-worker Senate, will give everyone the right to organize and bargain collectively for better wages, benefits and workplace conditions through a good union contract.

Once the PRO Act is passed, key provisions of the legislation will give working men and women the ability to reach a first contract after organizing, repeal so-called “right-to-work” laws that lead to lower wages, ban the hiring of permanent replacement workers to punish striking employees, and strengthen the National Labor Relations Board, which became the lapdog of big business under the previous administration.

Two-thirds of Americans favor labor unions, and half of America’s workers in every sector of labor would join a union if they could. The PRO Act will give America’s working men and women a real say in their futures. We need the PRO Act.

The New Jersey State AFL-CIO urges the House and Senate to pass the PRO Act quickly in a bipartisan manner. 

New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech

and Secretary-Treasurer Laurel Brennan

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