AFTNJ President Donna M. Chiera joined AFT members from around the state Sept. 13 for a mass union rally in Trenton opposing proposed increases to health care costs for public employees.
Among the speakers during the hour-plus event outside the New Jersey State House Annex was HPAE Local 5089 President Banita Herndon, who led a chant of “All day, all night / health care is a human right.”
“I want to thank the members and locals who traveled to Trenton for this rally to add their voices to the show of solidarity,” Chiera said afterward. “During the darkest days of the pandemic, public employees were hailed as heroes as they kept schools, hospitals and public services working. These same heroes gathered at the State House Annex with a message: Corporate profits should not be put before public health care, and public employees deserve to be part of a stronger, fairer New Jersey.”
View a photo gallery from the Sept. 13 rally in Trenton here.
