During the week of Labor Day this year, the New Jersey labor movement had a lot to celebrate with the signing of five new pro-labor bills into law. We thank Governor Murphy, labor candidates and pro-worker legislators for their advocacy in passing these bills.
“Labor Day was extra special this year thanks to Governor Murphy and a pro-worker Legislature” said New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech. “Governor Murphy has approximately four months left in his term, and he is finishing strong with the signing of these bills, which illustrate his commitment to helping working people’ Wowkanech concluded.
The following bills were signed into law:
1. A-4429: “Captive Audience” law. The law bans the mandatory requirement employers use to force employees to attend meetings on labor issues. The bill also requires employers to clearly communicate to their employees that attendance at these meetings is voluntary and also ensures that employees that choose not to attend these meetings are protected from retaliation by their employer.
We thank the sponsors for their leadership on this bill, particularly eight legislators that are also labor leaders: Anthony Verrelli (D-15) the Chairman of the Assembly Labor Committee and a member of Carpenters Local 254, Wayne DeAngelo (D-14), Chairman of the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee and President / Assistant Business Manager of IBEW Local 269, Christian Barranco (R-25), member of IBEW Local 102, Vin Gopal (D-11), Chairman of the Senate Education Committee and member of IBEW Local 400, Kevin Egan (D-17), Assistant Business Manager of IBEW Local 456, Paul Moriarty (D-4), member of SAG / AFTRA, Latham Tiver (R-8), member of IUOE Local 825, and Troy Singleton (D-7), member of UBC 715. The additional sponsors that advocated for passage of the law are: Prime Sponsor Joe Lagana (D-38), Patrick Diegnan (D-18), Linda Greenstein (D-14), Don Guardian (R-2), Clinton Calabrese (D-36), Yvonne Lopez (D-19), Codey Miller (D-4), Shanique Speight (D-29) and Mitchelle Drulis (D-16).
2. S-1054: The law requires instruction on the labor movement in social studies classes for grades 6-12. It requires that students are taught about the history of organized labor, strikes, organizing, collective bargaining and legal protections and existing labor laws. The positive contributions made by unions to our economy and the workforce are necessary to be taught in our educational system, so students have a better understanding and knowledge of how relevant organized labor is in our society.
The law was sponsored by Asm. Atkins, Asw. Carter, Asm. Sampson – a member of ILA Local 1588, Sen. Greenstein and Sen. Gopal – a member of IBEW Local 400).
3. “Motor Vehicle Open Recall Notice and Fair Compensation Act.” The law ends the practice by which auto mechanics are compensated at a lower rate of pay when they work on warranty or recall jobs for automobiles, as compared to the same exact type of repair for non-warranty or non-recall mechanical jobs.
The New Jersey State AFL-CIO advocated for passage of the law on behalf of its affiliated union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), which represents approximately 800 mechanics in New Jersey.
The law (S-3309) was sponsored by Senate President Scutari, Speaker Coughlin, Sen. Bucco, Asm. DiMaio and Asm. Sampson – a member of ILA Local 1588.
4. A-5267 / S-4289: The law directs the Board of Public Utilities to establish a program to procure and provide incentive awards for the development of transmission-scale energy storage systems.
The law was sponsored by IBEW Local 269 Assistant Business Manager Wayne DeAngelo and IBEW Local 456 Assistant Business Manager Kevin Egan, Asm. Bailey, Sen. Smith and Sen. Burzichelli.
5. S-4530 / A-5768: This law directed the BPU to open registration for an additional 3,000 megawatts of community solar projects. The law was sponsored by Sen. Gopal – a member of IBEW Local 400, Sen. McKeon, Asw. Peterpaul, Asw. Donlon and Asm. Karabinchak):
These two energy related laws aim to nearly double New Jersey’s capacity to provide affordable, reliable, and renewable energy by 2030. Not only will they create jobs in the building and construction trades, but they are a strong step forward in addressing the state’s energy shortage.
We thank the legislators that voted in favor of these bills and the affiliate unions that advocated for their passage.
Elections matter, and when we have a pro-labor Governor and legislature, we can advance a strong legislative agenda. This year, New Jersey has an election for Governor and the entire state Assembly – when working people vote, working people win!