Debra Coyle

Here in New Jersey, warehouse workers have been classified by the state as essential workers. It’s not hard to understand why. As COVID-19 spreads, these workers are the ones ensuring that food, cleaning products, medicine, and other vital goods are distributed to millions of people. But while the state government rightly considers warehouse workers essential, their employers treat them as disposable. That’s wrong and unacceptable, especially during this pandemic. Too many New Jersey residents employed in warehouses are still not given the protection and respect they deserve. According to news reports and first-hand accounts, COVID-19 is spreading quickly in New Jersey warehouses, because owners and operators of these facilities are not implementing rigorous cleaning measures, health and safety protocols, and other measures. Read the full opinion-editorial in the Star-Ledger by Alberto Arroyo is co-manager of the Laundry, Distribution and Food Service Joint Board (LDFS Union), Workers United, SEIU and Debra Coyle McFadden is executive director of WEC.

PES explosion on June 21, 2019. Photo credit to NBC Philadelphia. In South Jersey, this year we have a big reason to be grateful. In June, according to a recent report from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), a million residents of South Jersey and Pennsylvania narrowly escaped exposure to hydrofluoric acid, a highly toxic gas, after a preventable series of explosions at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery. When the explosion took place at 4 am, a control system operator immediately hit a switch to move the deadly hydrofluoric acid into a separate drum out of danger. Three other refinery workers fought flames to shut valves supplying fuel to the fire. The reward for these brave workers, all members of United Steelworkers Local 10-1? They lost their jobs, along with over 1,000 others. We’re lucky this disaster did not cause any loss of life. But it’s inexcusable that so many residents were put at risk and so many workers lost their livelihoods due to apparent negligence by company executives — who paid themselves $4.5 million in bonuses just two weeks after the incident. Read the full opinion-editorial piece in the South Jersey Times by Debra Coyle McFadden, WEC Executive Director here. [...]

This week marks the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Sandy. We all remember the fear and anxiety that gripped communities as we faced winds up to 90 miles an hour and sea levels 14 feet higher than normal. The storm claimed  hundreds of lives and cost tens of billions of dollars in New Jersey, New York and up and down the East Coast. Health-related costs in New York and New Jersey alone were more than $3 billion. Is New Jersey ready for the next Sandy?  The oil and chemical industries are important to the New Jersey economy. But we must not lose sight of the health and safety of workers in those industries, or the well-being of residents in surrounding communities. No one knows when the next storm might hit, when flood waters might rise, or when extreme heat might cause a disaster we can’t foresee. That’s why it’s more important than ever that industries that handle hazardous substances operate with full transparency and take steps to prepare for emergencies. Read the full Opinion-Editorial in The Star Ledger from Debra Coyle McFadden, WEC, Executive Director here.

The warehouse sector that supports the multibillion dollar e-commerce economy is booming. New Jersey shouldn’t give tax breaks to corporations that exploit the warehouse workers who make it happen. There are major problems with our state’s controversial tax incentive program, administered by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. Over the past year, alarming reports of a lack of oversight and a tangled mess of corporate cronyism at the NJEDA have become a symbol for economic and political dysfunction in New Jersey. NJEDA reform must focus on the quality of jobs we incentivize with our limited taxpayer resources – a topic largely missing from the tax incentive debate. Read the full Opinion-Editorial on NJ.com from the Star-Ledger by Alberto Arroyo is the International vice president of Workers United, SEIU. Brandon Castro is the campaign organizer for NJ Work Environment Council.