S2932/A4680, which provides subcontracting protections for workers at New Jersey’s public four-year institutions of higher education, was signed June 11 by Gov. Phil Murphy, his office said.
“Working collaboratively leads to results,” said AFTNJ President Donna M. Chiera. “I appreciate the efforts of Senate President Steve Sweeney, a primary sponsor of this legislation, which gives workers at four-year colleges and universities the same protections as their colleagues in PreK to 12 and community colleges. Thanks also go to Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin for his commitment to pass it and to Gov. Murphy for signing it into law.”
Chiera has kept close tabs on this legislation since its inception. In early February, she submitted a letter to Assembly Speaker Coughlin urging the passage of A4680, and in closing Chiera wrote, “Consolidation and subcontracting are the same as privatization, a practice that has reinforced profits are more important than people.”
Later that month, Chiera testified in support of A4680 during a virtual Assembly Labor Committee Meeting. “I know many of you in the past have supported working families, workers’ rights and organized labor,” she said to the other participants in the meeting. “I am asking you today to demonstrate once more that your support is not just hollow words. A way to show that you truly believe in the value of these workers is through action.”