Two AFT New Jersey locals sponsored Saturday’s Women’s March on New Jersey which seeks to “harness the political power of diverse women and their communities to create transformative social change by providing a safe and accepting platform for supporters to rally and march in promotion of civil rights for every human regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, religion, or creed.”
Representatives of the two AFT locals — the Union of Rutgers Administrators and AFT Local 1904 — signed on to sponsor the march. News reports estimated the crowd size at 15,000.
Jennifer Higgins, Vice President of External Affairs for AFT Local 1904, recalled filling two buses to Washington, DC for last year’s march. “This year we opted to support the March On Morristown and support the #PowerToThePolls effort in NJ’s 11th Congressional District,” Higgins said. “It was truly inspiring to be there, acting locally, with other marchers who care about and want to change the direction our country is headed.”
Steward Josephine Nagle of the Union of Rutgers Administrators (URA) called the march a “well-organized, Jersey-centric march with the strategic emphasis on voting and getting more women to run for office” with “diverse” and “powerful” speakers.
“What a welcome change to have the support and leadership of our new governor, Phil Murphy,” Nagle said. “He, and we, are blessed to have the brave and compassionate Tammy Snyder Murphy as our First Lady. Having four girls of my own, I particularly liked the little girl with the sign, ‘We March for Our Future.'”
URA Executive Vice President Darlene Smith was looking forward to the “positive energy” of the march from seeing women empowered.
