New Jersey State AFL-CIO: 50 Years of Making a Difference
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In this op-ed, Charles Wowkanech and Laurel Brennan, president and secretary-treasurer, respectively, of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO describe the state federation’s 50 years of making a difference.
Fifty years ago today, George Meany, president of the AFL-CIO, symbolically “tied the knot” linking the hands of AFL leader Vincent Murphy and CIO chief Joel Jacobson.
More than 3,000 delegates gathered in Newark to cheer the “shotgun wedding” that united the New Jersey labor movement and ended a 25-year rivalry during which the two federations raced against each other to organize hundreds of thousands of workers across the state.
More Than 100,000 Sign Petition Urging Verizon to Bargain
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Working families, unions, students, progressive groups and civil rights and community organizations have joined the fight against Verizon’s greed.
In just one week, more than 100,000 people have signed a petition calling on Verizon Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam to get serious about bargaining and to stop trying to push Verizon workers out of the middle class. You can add your name to the petition here.
The huge response to the petition and other actions at Verizon worksites and Verizon Wireless stores are part of the growing support for the 45,000 Communications Workers of America (CWA) and Electrical Workers (IBEW) members forced on strike by Verizon Aug. 6.
N.J. Workers First in Nation to Ratify Comcast Contract
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The 75 workers at Comcast in Fairfield, N.J., made history again last night by becoming the first Comcast worksite in the country to ratify a first contract. Last year, the workers were the first Comcast employees to form a union, voting for Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 827.
The New Jersey State AFL-CIO congratulated the workers, saying in a statement the victory:
could not have been achieved without the dedicated commitment of both IBEW 827 and their new members. We thank everyone who poured their hardest efforts and countless hours into this campaign.
By and large, working people recognize that a path to the middle class is achieved through having a voice at the workplace. The fact remains that collective bargaining is the only vehicle which allows workers to exercise that voice.
Praise for Wisconsin Workers’ Protests
UAW President Bob King says he and the union’s members fully support Wisconsin workers’ “courageous efforts”:
to fight back against this thinly veiled, purely partisan effort to destroy unions in favor of a system [Gov. Scott]Walker and his well-heeled political pals will control.
Also in a story on the UAW website, UAW Local 469 member Mike Bink, who works at Master Lock in Milwaukee, says the governor is merely paying back his political supporters from the business community.
Destroying unions has nothing to do with getting Wisconsin’s fiscal house in order or bringing jobs and revenue to the state. Teachers, nurses, librarians and other public workers should not be sacrificed to satisfy the governor’s corporate cronies.
Click here for the full story.
New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech and New Jersey federation Secretary-Treasurer Laurel Brennan say, “The attacks on Wisconsin’s public employees are deplorable.”
Caesars Casino Dealers Ratify First Contract with UAW
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Three years after joining the UAW, dealers at Caesars casino voted overwhelmingly in favor of their first contract, the second such pact approved by Atlantic City dealers in three months.
In August, casino dealers at the Tropicana Casino & Resort approved a historic first-ever contract for dealers in Atlantic City. The Caesars contract is similar to the Tropicana pact—both contain 18 percent raises.
N.Y. Times Profiles New Jersey State AFL-CIO Candidate School
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Last week, The New York Times discovered what we in the union movement have known for a long time (click here and here): The New Jersey State AFL-CIO’s Labor Candidate School—with more than 500 union members elected to office since 1997—is a unique and resounding success.
Times reporter Richard Perez-Pena writes that “it is hardly unusual for unions to be involved in political campaigns…they provide candidates with critical ground troops for time-intensive tasks like walking precincts and making phone calls.” But he adds that the New Jersey school is unique “in training its own members to run for office rather than work for other candidates.”
New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech tells Perez-Pena:
The concept was to take our members and apprentice them in the field of politics, just as we apprentice them in their own crafts. We started with zoning boards, school boards, councils, then mayor, freeholder, and then senators and assemblyman. Corporate America is very good at electing their people. If it’s good for them, why can’t it be good for us?”
Trio of N.J. Union Members Win City Offices
In special run-off elections this week, three more graduates of the New Jersey AFL-CIO’s Labor Candidates School posted victories. Since it was founded in 1997, 608 alumni of the unique program have won state or local offices, including New Jersey State Senate President Steve Sweeney, a member of Ironworkers Local 399.
The latest union-member/public officials are:
- Ray Greaves, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 819, who was elected to ther Bayonne City Council.
- Marge Caldwell-Wilson, Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1087, elected to the Trenton City Council.
- Tony Mack, Laborers (LIUNA) Local 595, elected Mayor of Trenton. Read the rest of this entry »
Ironworker Sworn in as N.J. State Senate President
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Steve Sweeney, a member of Ironworkers Local 399 and one of the early graduates of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO’s Labor Candidates School, was sworn in last week as president of the New Jersey State Senate.
Sweeney, who was first elected to the State Senate in 2001, is the first union member to serve as president of the upper chamber.
He said at his swearing-in ceremony:
“I accept this task with great humility and an ironclad belief that New Jersey’s best days are ahead of us. I will bring the work ethic here that I did in my career as an ironworker.”
Atlantic City Casino Workers Authorize Strike
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Gaming workers at Bally’s and Caesars casinos in Atlantic City voted overwhelmingly over the weekend to authorize a strike if they are unable to reach a contract agreement with management.
The workers have been trying to gain a first contract for two years after voting to form a union with the UAW in 2007.
Says Ed Hendricks, a Caesars slot technician for 15 years:
Nobody wants a strike, but we’re going to stand up to enforce our rights. We have negotiated for almost two years, but instead of reaching an agreement the company keeps cutting back. Harrah’s [owner of both casinos] has cut our 401(k) match, increased our benefit costs and laid off our fellow workers.
