Gov. Phil Murphy and Assemblywoman Rosy Bagolie on Sept. 5 served as grand marshal and deputy grand marshal, respectively, at the Essex-West Hudson Labor Council-sponsored labor parade and celebration in Newark.
“This is not just a gathering of the labor movement,” Bagolie said. “It is a gathering of family — a family tied together by our ties to labor, a family that knows no paycheck, no contract, no right has ever been won without the blood, sweat and tears of the labor movement. And when labor is unified, we don’t just march, we move mountains.” She went on to reference two new pro-labor bills signed by Murphy earlier in the week “that prove New Jersey will remain a union state.”
“We have a lot to celebrate,” Murphy said, citing some of his administration’s achievements over two terms, among them increasing minimum wage and putting $47.2 billion into the pension fund for public sector employees. “We’ve got four and a half months to go. You have my word. You’ve had my back at every step of the way; I’ll have your back until the final seconds in office.”
ABOVE: Assemblywoman Rosy Bagolie, Gov. Phil Murphy, Essex-West Hudson Labor Council President Tom Giblin and N.J. State AFL-CIO President Charlie Wowkanech on Sept. 5 in Newark.
BELOW: AFTNJ President Jennifer S. Higgins (second from left) gathers with AFTNJ members ahead of the labor parade in downtown Newark. (Photos by Chris M. Junior)
