The New Jersey State AFL-CIO Labor Candidates School has an unrivaled tradition of uplifting working men and women in our state. The program provides rank-and-file union members with education and training to manage their campaigns along with resources and volunteer support from fellow union members to encourage their election success.
CLICK HERE to see photos from the 19th Annual Labor Candidates School.
Over the years, this program has been recognized nationally for its effectiveness, achieving a total of 817 election victories for union members since 1997. Over the weekend, 34 rank-and-file union members representing 23 local unions from across all sectors of the labor movement joined this year’s annual class to bolster their election campaigns and build on the success of the labor candidates program.
The New Jersey State AFL-CIO Labor Candidates School, held August 15-16, 2015 at the union staffed Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center, is a two-day immersion course where participants learn the nuts and bolts of building, coordinating, and winning an election campaign. Topics covered included volunteer recruitment, fundraising, campaign planning, campaign research, public speaking, targeting, voter contact, get-out-the-vote, resource management, message development, and media relations, and digital strategies.
Graduates of the program have gone on to represent constituencies at the municipal, county, state, and federal levels, while championing policies that reflect the priorities of all New Jersey’s working families such as paid family leave and raising the minimum wage.
We congratulate the graduates of this year’s class and look forward to working with them to pave a road to victory this Election Day, November 3, 2015, when at least 67 first-time and incumbent labor candidates will be on the ballot.
Together we will continue to push the labor candidates program to new heights, not only measured through the number of candidates elected and the levels of government represented, but based on the progressive policies that are made possible through our collective efforts.