May Day 2025
On May Day, the New Jersey State AFL-CIO officers President Charles Wowkanech and Secretary-Treasurer Laurel Brennan stood shoulder to shoulder with our union brothers, sisters, their families, seniors, and all members of our community who have been impacted by the blatant attacks against our unions, our workplaces and our communities.
Speaking at a rally in our state’s capitol, at the World War II Memorial, attended by hundreds of union members and community allies, President Wowkanech stated, “Together, we will continue to send the message that the retaliatory actions against our unions, our workplaces and our communities will not be tolerated, and we will defend the rights of all union members with strong unified resistance. We must continue to fight to protect the progress we have made on behalf of working people, ensuring that the next generation of workers inherit a better future,” he concluded.
This May Day, we sent a clear message to President Trump and unelected billionaire Elon Musk: We will not go back. We are ready to fight the attacks, because here in New Jersey, we are battle tested.
May Day provides us all with the opportunity to come together to remember the generations of workers who fought for dignity, safety, and justice on the job, and is a reminder that we are all united under a strong movement. This May Day is a call to action, and a battle cry to our members to raise awareness of what’s at stake for every worker in our state.
The Trump administration’s anti-worker, anti-union agenda, which has cost our fellow union brothers and sisters their jobs, threatened the retirement security of all workers, and jeopardized the ability of New Jersey residents to access Social Security benefits must be stopped.
Together, we will continue to fight these attacks every single day if necessary. By working together, as we always have, we must stop Trump’s and Musk’s attempts to weaken unions, silence working people, and eradicate vital protections for workers. To do this, we must stand in solidarity, no matter what.