The Legislature wrapped up the session on Monday by approving ballot questions asking voters to dedicate additional funds to transportation projects and require the state to make full pension payments. The Senate also OK’d a ballot question allowing the expansion of casino gaming. The Assembly is set to vote on the question in the next session, which starts Tuesday.

Here is a rundown of legislative activity:

NJ State AFL-CIO Calls for Solidarity as U.S. Supreme Court Case is Heard

Strong unions empower working people to fight for justice, fairness, dignity and respect. The Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association case, which the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing on Monday, January 11, 2016, threatens to silence our voice as working people.

In the New Jersey State AFL-CIO’s new video, union leaders talk about the power of unions and how important it is to remain united to overcome the challenges facing middle-class families.

WILD will be here before we know it, and we look forward to having you join us for the 13^th Annual Women in Leadership Development (WILD) conference, which promises to be one of the most engaging and memorable WILD conferences to date.

This conference will be held at the Hilton East Brunswick from March 4-5, 2016. Please find the registration brochure HERE.

Public hearings on ballot questions to dedicate additional funds to meet our transportation needs, fully fund pensions and expand casino gaming were held on Thursday, and the full Senate was in session for floor votes in the afternoon. Here is a rundown of the day’s legislative activity:

Motor Fuel Tax Dedication (ACR-1). The Assembly Judiciary Committee held a public hearing on this resolution, sponsored by Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, to amend the constitution to dedicate more money to the Transportation Trust Fund without raising the 10.5-cent gas tax or the 13.5-cent tax on diesel fuels. The amendment asks voters to dedicate all revenues from the motor fuels and petroleum products gross receipts tax to fund the state’s transportation needs. The New Jersey State AFL-CIO supported the resolution in committee.

The New Jersey State AFL-CIO is proud to announce that over 100 labor elected officials in New Jersey have signed onto a letter, which you can read HERE, underscoring the threat of the U.S. Supreme Court case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association. This level of solidarity is unparalleled, and is only made possible thanks to the New Jersey State AFL-CIO Labor Candidates program, which has achieved 864 election victories since 1997, making it the only one of its kind in the nation.

We look back on 2015 as a year of significant accomplishments in advancing our progressive agenda and shared goals, reminding us that we can achieve important victories for working people when we work together as one.

CLICK HERE to read the full issue.

Foremost among these achievements is our record number of victories on Election Day. With wins at every level of government, we now have 162 labor candidates serving in elected offices. The dedication of the CLC and BTC presidents, leadership in the locals and engagement of young workers contributed to our outstanding get-out-the-vote drive. This would not have been possible without labor solidarity.

Public employees have never skipped a pension payment. However, years of mismanagement by the state has brought New Jersey’s pension system to the brink of disaster. We strongly support a ballot question that requires the state to live up to its pension funding obligation. Simply put: We support this proposal to save workers’ pensions. 

Requiring the state to live up to its obligation to fund pensions will restore New Jersey’s retirement system to fiscal health for the 800,000 active and retired workers who are counting on receiving the modest pension they earned.

We are pleased to announce that the first responders who rushed to Ground Zero after the horrific events of 9/11, and who subsequently became ill due to their heroic rescue and recovery work, including police officers, medical experts, firefighters and members of the building and construction trades, will receive monitoring and treatment for the rest of their lives.

As a result of the advocacy of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, our affiliates and other partners, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act was signed into law in 2011. It established the World Trade Center Health Program at Rutgers University’s Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI) in Piscataway, which is treating more than 4,800 first responders and survivors.