Labor Day is a celebration of working people and the progressive achievements of the labor movement. It is an occasion for us to come together as a community to appreciate the many ways in which workers keep our state running. Labor Day is a reminder of how much we all depend on each other and that by working together we can improve the world in which we live.

Below are some local events you can participate in to celebrate and enjoy this important day.

When Staffing Is Compromised, Patient Care Suffers

Nurses at Shore Medical Center in Somers Point (formerly Shore Memorial Hospital) have been attempting to negotiate a new contract since September 2014, with a specific focus on safe patient care and retention of well-trained and experienced nurses. The hospital has outsourced critical housekeeping jobs and cut nursing positions through attrition, which has had a direct impact on safe patient care. The longer the nurses are forced to work in an understaffed, stressful and uncompromising environment, the more patient care will suffer.

A just-released September 2015 Consumer Reports study found Shore Medical Center to be one of the country’s 18 worst hospitals for preventing dangerous bacteria-based infections.  Read the report by CLICKING HERE.

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 19^th Annual Labor Candidates School.

While politics poses a major threat to women’s health, a lack of health awareness can be an equally dangerous condition. Each year, one in three women dies due to heart disease, making it the number one killer of women in the United States. Additionally, coronary artery disease, the most common type of heart disease, kills more Americans than all cancers combined.

The New Jersey State AFL-CIO emphasized the pressing need for long-term funding for the state’s vital transportation network of roads, bridges, rails, tunnels and mass transit in testimony to a Senate Legislative Oversight Committee on Monday, August 10, 2015.

Our state’s economic vitality and the well-being of our residents depend on a safe, reliable transportation network. Yet, here in New Jersey, one in four of our bridges is structurally deficient, there is no money for new projects and commuting times are growing due to deficient roads, decrepit tunnels and inadequate rail and bus service.

We are very disappointed that Gov. Christie used his position to promote violence against teachers and our labor movement. It’s a sad day when a person who is asking to lead our country says that the national teachers union ‘deserves a punch in the face.’

IBEW Local 94 in Mercer County became a classroom on Friday, July 31, 2015, for young workers taking part in Common Sense Economics led by Jennifer Higgins of AFT Local 1904 and Carli Meneses, president of IAM Local 2339N.

The workshop focused on how workers can harness their collective power to improve their economic circumstances. First, labor must be united. Second, all members of the labor movement – especially our future leaders – must  be engaged in the political process and be invested in electing leaders who believe in advancing progressive policies that help working families get and stay ahead. 

The New Jersey State AFL-CIO reminds you to continue to support our brothers and sisters at UNITE HERE Local 54, who have been negotiating in good faith and whose employer cut health care for workers several months ago. This dispute has not been resolved.