New Jersey Family Leave Act Shows Value of Building Workers’ Political Strength

Christine Rampolla, communications director for the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, describes how key lawmakers, who also are union members, moved a paid family leave law through the state legislature, which was signed into law today. The New Jersey experience illustrates the importance of workers building political strength, especially electing union members and other worker-friendly allies to offices at all levels.  

Twelve years ago, the New Jersey State AFL-CIO began an effort to pass legislation that  would ease the burden of workers struggling to balance the needs of work and family. To build support for a state law similar to the national Family and Medical Leave Act and other pro-worker initiatives, the state federation created the Union Candidate School. Since the program began in 1997, some 495 New Jersey union members have been elected to public office as members of the state Senate and Assembly, county freeholder boards and as mayors, aldermen, committee and council members, fire commissioners and school board members. 

Today marks one of the Union Candidate’s greatest victories. Gov. Jon Corzine signed into law the state’s Paid Family Leave legislation. The dedication and courage of our union members serving working families in our state legislature successfully led the charge for the passage of  the bill, which provides up to six weeks of paid family leave at two-thirds salary (to a maximum of $524 a week). The measure will be financed by employee payroll deductions that will cost each worker in New Jersey a maximum of 64 cents a week, or $33 a year.  

At the Statehouse today, the prime sponsors—Sen. Stephen Sweeney, an Iron Workers member, and Assemblyman Nelson Albano, a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers—joined Corzine, Labor Commissioner David Socolow, New Jersey State AFL-CIO staff, union members and coalition partners for the signing ceremony. Other union members currently serving in the state Legislature who helped pass the bill, include Assemblymen John Amodeo and Tom Giblin (Operating Engineers), Assemblymen Wayne DeAngelo and Joseph Egan (Electrical Workers) and Assemblyman Paul Moriarty (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Screen Actors). 

Charles Wowkanech, president of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, hailed passage of the law, saying:

A lot of politicians talk about family values, but then fail to act. It’s refreshing to finally see family values in action, and no legislation is more family friendly than Paid Family Leave. With today’s action, New Jersey joins the rest of the industrialized world—all of which have had this program for decades, in balancing obligations to family and their jobs.  

Gov. Corzine and the legislature today sent a strong message that the emergency medical needs of parents for their children and families take precedent. No longer will families have to make the very difficult and often painful decisions of caring for a newborn baby in their first weeks of life or caring for a critically ill family member, or going to work in order to pay the mortgage. I believe that the values of America are better than that, and today, New Jersey continues to lead the way to a more balanced family friendly society.  

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