Recently, when I was at Netroots Nation, I spoke with AFT President Randi Weingarten about the candidacy of public school teacher Marie Corfield for the New Jersey State Assembly from the 16th District. Along with many of the participants at the conference, we agreed that more teachers need to be elected to public office. Weingarten was enthusiastic, and handed me a button to give to Marie in support of Marie's candidacy. Marie is wearing that button in this video where she addresses Blue Jersey readers at today's Trenton rally.
Disclosure: I am working on Marie Corfield's campaign
This is an open thread. Won't have time to live blog this today, but your comments and reactions to the video streaming of the hearing (link below) is welcome.
UPDATE - Senate Hearing begins about 45 minutes late - a full gallery in the Senate chamber will hear an historic vote on a bill proposed by 'union man' Steve Sweeney, President of the NJ state Senate. Watch here. Feed is not embeddable or we would post it. The hearing is starting late, with the Full Senate link still at this time showing Pending, which may mean there are furious negotiations going on outside the chamber.
#StandUpNJ - Twitter hashtag being used by union participants and their supporters.
Section 76 repealed - As we reported earlier, Senator Sweeney and Assemblywoman Oliver have backtracked on one of the most fiscally unwise and damaging parts of the plan, which would have blocked state employees from using their own health insurance at out-of-state hospitals.
Sen. Loretta Weinberg told Blue Jersey this morning she will not support the bill as currently construvted
Early this morning, outside a fundraiser in Trenton for Assembly Democrats, protesters jeered Assembly Democrats supporting the Christie-Sweeney plan, and cheered Democrats they know will not be selling them out today. Shouts of: "We will remember in November!"
A Tent City has sprung up behind the Trenton War Memorial - dozens of tents constructed there legally or illegally, I don't know yet.
March for Collective Bargaining - Led by historical re-enactors, union folks and their supporters marched into Trenton this morning to stage what they call Trenton Battle Two. Video:
Deciminyan is there, but couldn't get into the hearing itself. The room is full, and fire regulations prohibit any further crowding. Deciminyan's now headed over to Tent City.
I hope Couch Potato Politics doesn't mind. I added video of Jackson's event in Jersey City, one of several across the state over 2 days. Economic injustice was the theme in Jersey City, protesting Citigroup's decision to lay off 276 New Jerseyans at their Englewood Cliffs subsidiary, just weeks after NJ offered another Citigroup subsidiary $12.3 million in tax breaks to relocate 400 jobs to JC from New York. Jersey City video & stills from both days, after the jump - Rosi
The Rev. Jesse Jackson appeared in Downtown Jersey City yesterday to protest Citigroup's decision to lay off 276 workers at a subsidiary in Englewood Cliffs.
The layoffs were announced in March, mere weeks after the state offered another Citigroup subsidiary, Citibank N.A., $12.3 million in tax breaks to relocate 400 jobs to Jersey City from New York.
A prouder moment in my life is hard to define but introducing my children to the Reverend Jesse Jackson yesterday rates as one of the most significant. Having a photo of my daughter standing with Jesse Jackson captured a moment I'll not soon forget.
Jesse Jackson has been a participant and witness in some of the most significant changes in our American society over the last 60 years. He walked with Dr. Martin Luther King to face the dogs, firehoses, Billy-clubs and white-sheeted hate mongers threatening, and for Dr. King, delivering death as a response to the march for freedom and equality for all Americans and the ability of public workers to have a voice in bargaining their working conditions and rights.
As we stood at the foot of the Trenton War Memorial steps and listened to Reverend Jackson talk to the threats being levied against workers' rights, the rights of the poor and middle class to equal access to quality education and healthcare, I recalled the old footage of Dr. King speaking to the people about equal rights and social justice. I reflected on the image of a much younger Jesse Jackson standing at his elbow, learning the lessons of leadership and sacrifice for others. In Jesse's words, I could hear the influence of Dr. King's spirit, 43 years after his assassination.
As we stood and listened to Reverend Jackson, I wondered if these moments would be the cement that my children use to fortify the foundation of their sense of social responsibility and self-sacrifice. I can only hope that they will someday tell their children about the day they met Jesse Jackson and teach to them the lessons that he and Dr. King taught to us.
For the guy helping the mayor run the city, a heroin arrest with sidebar resisting arrest and assault of a police officer charges is a pretty damned bad news situation. Word is Paul Sigmund is headed to rehab. Hope so. And politics & city management aside, it's hard not to wish him the best.
Now, Tony Mack, time to address some problems ... it's all you, man.
There's been a lot of grim news out of Washington and Trenton lately. The House of Representatives voted to kill Medicare - a lifeline for senior citizens. Chris Christie's state treasurer testified this week that he will work to balance the budget on the backs of the middle class by cutting property tax relief and aid to pre-schoolers instead of bringing back the tax on millionaires.
But there has been some good news recently, too. New Jersey's new 16th Legislative District, long a Republican stronghold, has been reconfigured to make it slightly more Democratic.
Why am I bringing this up? Because my friend Marie Corfield is running as a Democrat in that district for State Assembly.
Marie is a unionized public school teacher who stood up to Chris Christie at a town hall meeting last year, and as is the governor's style, she was summarily disparaged by him.
As another friend noted, redistricting has turned Marie's campaign from a marathon to a sprint - and it's a race that can and must be won.
I've worked with Marie even before she entered politics, and when she decided to run for political office, my first question was, "how can I help?" That's why I've organized a meet-and-greet this Sunday so that South Jersey residents can talk to the teacher who's been featured on Fox News, MSNBC, and on the front page of the Sunday New York Times.
Stop by at Marty and Marv Weinar's home, 441 Crescent Drive in Moorestown between 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM on April 10 to talk with Marie and learn about how she will work to improve New Jersey for all its citizens. See you there!
For almost 15 years I was an attorney at the National Labor Relations Board - so I know union busting when I see it. What is going on in Madison and across the nation is a collective attempt to weaken worker's rights. We can't let it happen in Wisconsin, and we can't let it happen here at home in New Jersey. We need to continue to stand with union members and the middle class they represent.
Last week, I attended the massive rally in Trenton and stood about twenty feet from the podium in the cold, windy weather. I got to see the entourage of Democratic legislators come out one at a time and speak about their support for police and firemen. From that vantage point, I was able to observe their body language and facial expressions while they were waiting their turn to speak.
I put those men and women into two categories - those who truly wanted to be there to support the middle class, and those who were there to give lip service and get their picture on the newscast. And I immediately realized that Marie Corfield would fit into the former category, and that we need her in the State Assembly.
I have only known Marie for a short time. She is the exception to Warhol's Law - her fifteen minutes of fame will go far beyond the YouTube video where she was demeaningly and discourteously berated by Governor Christie for being a concerned citizen. When Marie announced that she was running for Assembly from the 23rd District, I unhesitatingly volunteered to be on her campaign team.
Marie's passion is education. She is a strong advocate for public education and doing what's right for the kids. But her enthusiasm does not stop at the schoolhouse door. Marie is a strong advocate for the middle class - the middle class that got the shaft from Wall Street bankers and is continuing to be disadvantaged by our governor's policies. She understands the constitution better than our lawyer-governor and in opposing vouchers, supports the separation of church and state. She also is in favor of equality for all citizens regardless of race, color, creed, or sexual orientation. Marie is fiercely intelligent and self-confident, and a great listener. She will make a wonderful assemblywoman.
So I am hoping that the next time I go to a rally in Trenton, I see Marie behind that podium - as Assemblywoman Corfield. That would be one small step toward making New Jersey a better state moving forward.
Last week's rally in Trenton was soggy. Today's was downright cold. But for anyone standing among thousands of firemen, police, corrections officers, emergency response personnel, and even a handful of supporting teachers, the atmosphere was electric. Speakers were union leaders and just about any Democratic politician in the State House - with one exception.
You would think that this crowd would portray Chris Christie as the bogeyman - and you would not be disappointed. But the overriding theme was expressed in the repeated chants of "Where's Sweeney?"
Senate President Steve Sweeney's capitulation to the anti-union interests was foremost among the concerns of the endless sea of blue uniformed men and women in front of the State House.
For first-responders, the massive cuts to their labor force are not only about backdoor methods of making collective bargaining illegal, as Hetty Rosenstein charges Steve Sweeney and Jennifer Beck are trying to do. Not only about Christie's near-daily demonizing of the people who work for New Jersey, and not only about Christie ignoring labor's collective bargaining rights. Firefighters & police are charged to protect, and deep cuts in state aid have meant massive layoffs, and an impact on how safe we all are.
Boots of laid-off Camden police officers (APP)
Camden laid off nearly one-half of its police force this year; a third of its firefighters. Yesterday, about 40 laid-off firefighters and firefighters coming off shift rallied outside Camden's city hall, demanding action from Mayor Dana Redd. Their signs read: Camden's new emergency # (856) TOO-LATE, and People are dying.
The NJ state PBA's website is as hard on Democrats in the legislature as it is on Gov. Christie:
On the political front, Governor Christie continues to preach that he has no problem with the "rank-and-file" members while at the same time he proposes legislation that denies those same rank-and-file members their collective bargaining rights, violates their contracts, and reduces pension benefits that they have faithfully paid for during their careers.
Unfortunately, the Democratic majority, with only a few exceptions, has apparently forgotten their core values and has been ineffective in bringing some order and common sense to the table.
To me, one of the kickers of this request, from Newark's West Ward councilman, is the last line directed at Gov. Chris Christie: "In this instance, please be pro-business." - promoted by Rosi
The recommendations of the Governor's task force to eliminate the Urban Enterprise Zone program (UEZ) is ill-timed at best and potentially disastrous to small business survival, stabilization and growth in urban areas like Newark at the worst. When President Obama is providing small businesses with help via tax credits to spur hiring and other incentives for technology and investments in our national economy, the state of New Jersey could potentially strike a blow against small businesses for short term budget in urban areas that are barely holding on.
Urban areas, like Newark, have a hard enough time encouraging, supporting, and working collaboratively to develop small businesses in robust economic times for many reasons: access to capital, technical training, staying afloat during that critical first two years, and the fighting the negative ( and some would say racially prejudicial/inaccurate) perceptions of crime and safety. In harsh economic times, the UEZ is not only helping to sustain small businesses, but also the jobs they provide. The UEZ program has created real opportunities in places like Newark, Jersey City, Bayonne, Trenton, Rahway, etc. and an understanding of its history and real results will clarify these facts separate and apart from short term and myopic opinions that do not take into account the total impact and provisions of the program.
The UEZ program was enacted in 1983 with a duration of 20 years. The program has worked so well that....
A look at the benefits to businesses, after the jump.
The Trenton rally is now just a memory. We sang and shouted in the rain. We felt empowered and inspired. We felt sad at what the governor is doing to the people of New Jersey. We felt happy that we had such an energetic crowd of workers, retirees, and just plain citizens who were willing to get drenched in the deluge to send a message to the powerful.
None of us wants last Friday's event to turn out to be just a blip in the governor's never-ending quest to subjugate New Jersey's public workers to benefit his political career and his hold on power. So where do we go from here?
(Folk songs are fierce, but so is winning in November. - promoted by Jay Lassiter)
Over 25,000 in May.Over 3,000 on a cold, miserable day in February. Big time Union leaders in attendance.
And not a damned word about voters, voter registration drives, or the power of the ballot box.
Singing, and dancing, and screaming, and at the end of the day NOT A SINGLE NEW VOTER WAS REGISTERED!
Twenty eight thousand people at two rallies and they walked away with nothing that can really change the direction of this anti-union/worker push by the right wing.
You want to know why Republican anti-union politicians now control Wisconsin,Michigan, Ohio,Florida,and maybe in November New Jersey.It is as clear as can be. Those right wingers out worked and out voted the middle class workers who are in the unions or who would not mind being in a union.
Sorry , but I blame the union leaders who seem to be happy with dancing and singing every couple of months but who do not want to do....
First of all, what's Rick Shaftan, consultant/pollster to far-right candidates like Steve Lonegan, doing trolling at the NJ Against Chris Christie facebook group (43,000 members)? Check it out: (h/t ken bank)
Dude, what's up with the sneering? the name-calling?
Tomorrow's rally is going to be big. That's going to be bad for the conservatives, whose argument depends on pitting New Jerseyans against each other, and getting non-union workers to resent union workers. Wisconsin was evidence of a pendulum swing of ordinary people in defense of fair bargaining. That swing could happen here in Trenton tomorrow noon, even though our governor's spent a year making himself famous for propagandizing public workers. We'll see.
Don't let Shaftan plant the idea that tomorrow's rally will be anything but big, successful and peaceful. Madison was. The city-to-city rallies have been (counter-rallies, small). That's got to be a challenge for the right. They'd like nothing more than trouble to discredit us. That's why we now know from the recording made when Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker thought he was talking to his benefactor David Koch, that Walker considered infiltrating the peaceful rally with troublemakers, but ditched it because it might not work (not because it was wrong). The call, a prank, showed Walker up as an irresponsible, dangerous fool. In fact, Madison Police Chief Noble Wray had some serious questions for Governor Walker today. Wray:
I find it very unsettling and troubling that anyone would consider creating safety risks for our citizens and law enforcement officers. Our department works hard dialoging with those who are exercising their First Amendment right, those from both sides of the issue, to make sure we are doing everything we can to ensure they can demonstrate safely.
This is insidious, and in-bred. Koch brothers' money got Walker elected (why he jumped at the call). Chris Christie (out of the state again) backs Walker. The Kochs bankroll Americans for Prosperity (AFP); Steve Lonegan runs it in New Jersey. Shaftan was the strategist for Lonegan's GOP primary campaign against Christie. This is all in the family. It's a family that has a lot to lose if tomorrow's rally is big, successful and peaceful. Let's make it just that.
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I have only known Marie for a short time. She is the exception to Warhol's Law - her fifteen minutes of fame will go far beyond the YouTube video where she was demeaningly and discourteously berated by Governor Christie for being a concerned citizen. When Marie announced that she was running for Assembly from the 23rd District, I unhesitatingly volunteered to be on her campaign team.
