Debra Coyle, Author at Work Environment Council

New Jersey Raises Minimum to $15

Thanks to the work of WEC and many allies in the Fight for $15 coalition, New Jersey is now the fourth state in the nation to have a $15 minimum wage by 2024. We want to thank Governor Phil Murphy, Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin for improving the lives of one million low-wage workers in New Jersey. For decades the real wages of lower-income workers in the United States have been stagnant. The result has been the high social cost of food insecurity, poverty, and difficulty in access to healthcare. This bold step from New Jersey policy makers is an affirmation that a living wage is an indispensable part of creating healthy, sustainable communities in the Garden State. While we are disappointed that farmworkers and tipped workers are not guaranteed this crucial right, and that small business employees and seasonal workers must wait longer to achieve a living wage, we are glad that due to the advocacy of teen workers and the Fight for $15 coalition, workers under 18 will not be left behind from receiving a living wage. WEC is proud of the educational work we put in on this topic, and proud to have stood [...]

By Debra Coyle|2020-08-12T15:04:42-04:00January 18th, 2019|Highlights|Comments Off

WEC Statement on Comptroller Audit of the Economic Development Authority

January 9, 2018A report released earlier today by the state comptroller confirms what the NJ Work Environment Council (WEC) and our partners have been educating on and advocating around for decades: that our economy in the United States, and in New Jersey, is rigged to benefit the ultra-rich. The report, which detailed a vast failure of oversight and implementation in the state Economic Development Authority's (EDA) tax incentive program, found that the EDA could not identify if the $11 billion of incentives given out since 2005, which went to highly profitable corporations, generated any economic benefit to the state. That's $11 billion which could have gone to building New Jersey's communities. But New Jersey's economic system, our tax code, and our policies are very often not written for us. They are written to dish out corporate welfare, so that wealthy executives can line their pockets while destroying jobs, failing to stimulate or contribute meaningfully to our economy, and polluting our environment. Workers and taxpayers have felt this at every turn- as our state government bends over backwards to please corporations and moneyed interests, in hopes that they will somehow save our economy, our wages remain stagnate, our working conditions fail to [...]

By Debra Coyle|2019-01-09T16:45:38-05:00January 9th, 2019|Highlights, Press Releases|Comments Off

Bear Spray Incident at NJ Amazon Warehouse Shine Light on Safety Record

Internet giant Amazon was urged by a worker advocacy group weeks ago to give workplace safety its urgent attention. After a bear spray can fell off a shelf and discharged at an Amazon warehouse in Robbinsville, sending two dozen workers to the hospital, The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health said the company needs to do a better job moving products without hurting people. "Amazon needs to invest in safety and do better by their workers," said said Debra Coyle McFadden, executive director of the NJ Work Environment Council, a group that advocates for workplace safety. Read the full story on Asbury Park Press.

By Debra Coyle|2019-05-13T15:12:09-04:00December 5th, 2018|Highlights, WEC in the News|Comments Off

Debra Coyle McFadden New Executive Director

NJ Work Environment Council Announces Debra Coyle McFadden as the New Executive Director of the State Labor-Environmental Alliance Ewing – The New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC) Board is thrilled to announce the formal hiring of Debra Coyle McFadden, a long-time labor-environmental leader and WEC staff member, as WEC’s new Executive Director, effective immediately. Debra joined the staff of WEC in 1997 as a part-time office manager and was the third person WEC hired. Over the last 21 years, she has held numerous positions in the organization that reflected increasing levels of responsibility, including campaign organizer for WEC’s chemical safety and security campaign and staff lead on the Respect Our Right to Know campaign, which ensured that workers and community members have access to information about hazardous and toxic chemicals at industrial facilities around New Jersey. “I look forward to working with Debra Coyle McFadden on issues that are important to refinery and chemical workers of NJ,” stated John Pajak, President, Teamsters Local 877 and WEC Board Member. In 2008, Debra was promoted to Assistant Director. In that role she has been an intricate part of WEC’s senior leadership team and has worked on program and strategic planning, budget and [...]

By Debra Coyle|2018-11-27T06:36:49-05:00November 27th, 2018|Highlights, Press Releases, Uncategorized|Comments Off

What OffShore Wind Could Do for Economy and Jobs in NJ

Sometimes success is about being in the right place at the right time. Eight years after the signing of one of the nation’s most robust laws to open the market to offshore-wind generation, New Jersey’s moment has arrived. On September 13, Gov. Phil Murphy announced that the state is on course to reach its benchmark goal of 3,500 megawatts of offshore-wind energy capacity by 2030. And on October 1, he announced the creation of the Wind Innovation & New Development Institute, a key plank of his economic master plan which will catalyze investment to meet offshore-wind goals. Matched with the tangible actions of the Board of Public Utilities which last month unanimously approved opening an application window for 1,100 MW of offshore-wind capacity, we now stand on the verge of realizing the paired goals of responsible environmental policy and investment in dynamic economic development for New Jersey and the region. The investment in offshore wind is strategic because of the expected capacity to match — and exceed — existing energy needs. “Wind Power to Spare,” a recent Environment New Jersey report, indicates there is enough wind off the Atlantic coast to generate four times the amount of electricity that the [...]

By Debra Coyle|2019-07-09T17:35:23-04:00October 18th, 2018|Highlights, Opinion Pieces|Comments Off

WEC Seeks Industrial Hygiene Consultant

WEC seeks an industrial hygiene (IH) consultant to provide technical assistance on an as needed basis to WEC members. Details here.

By Debra Coyle|2018-10-23T13:44:25-04:00September 6th, 2018|Highlights, Uncategorized|Comments Off

2018 Awards Dinner

The New Jersey Work Environment Council holds its major fundraiser, an awards dinner, each year. We look forward to being joined by labor, environmental, community leaders and public officials, representing many thousands of New Jersey workers and residents. The event will be held on Friday, November 30, 2018, 6:00 pm at The College of New Jersey, 2000 Pennington Road, Ewing, in the Education Building, Room 212. Enjoy hors d'oeuvres, beer, wine, and a buffet dinner, with ample time to network and mingle with friends. WEC relies on the generosity of our members to help fund our mission: working for safe, secure jobs and a healthy, sustainable environment. Dinner Invitation & Order Form Rev. Dr. Charles F. Boyer Pastor, Bethel AME Church in Woodbury and Founder, Salvation and Social Justice The Reverend Dr. Charles Franklin Boyer is a third generation African Methodist Episcopal Preacher. He is the pastor of Bethel AME Church in Woodbury, NJ, the founder of Salvation and Social Justice, and the co-convener of The NJ Black Multi-Faith Alliance, The NJ Prophetic Agenda, and the United Black Agenda. He leads various boards, initiatives and committees. He earned a Bachelorette of Science and Master’s in Business Administration from [...]

By Debra Coyle|2018-11-16T15:00:16-05:00September 6th, 2018|Events, Highlights, Uncategorized|Comments Off

New Jersey’s Warehouse Workers Deserve Better

Many cities and towns in New Jersey are home to warehouse distribution centers. These are places where people pack and ship products that are later sold at Amazon.com and other large online retailers, as well as brick-and-mortar retail stores. Ensuring that jobs at these warehouses are safe, secure, and pay family-sustaining wages is crucial for the future of New Jersey’s economy. Read the full opinion-editorial on Northjersey.com by Brandon Castro, and Alberto Arroyo, International Vice President Workers' United, SEIU and WEC Public Need Over Corporate Greed organizer. Public Need Over Corporate Greed campaign

By Debra Coyle|2018-08-03T13:46:25-04:00August 3rd, 2018|Highlights, Opinion Pieces|Comments Off

We’re part of an emerging voice America should listen to: Young people

Rodents in the cafeteria. Crumbling ceilings. Mold growing in the classroom. Extreme temperatures in excess of 90 degrees. Toxic air quality from poor indoor air ventilation. Concerns about asbestos, lead and other toxins in the walls and pipes. Unfortunately, these are common problems right here in our New Jersey schools. The Healthy Schools Now coalition is committed to addressing these conditions and ensuring healthy school environments for all students. We believe that access to a healthy and safe school environment is essential for receiving a thorough and efficient education. We have fought to make that vision a reality by organizing and advocating for policy changes, demanding improvements for school facilities and issuing recommendations about school facility policies, including advocating for increased bonding for the New Jersey Schools Development Authority. Recently, new voices have caused us to think about broadening our mission. Students expressed fear that what happened in Texas, Florida, and other schools around the country, could happen in their schools. They talked about how easy it was to get into a school. They highlighted how simple it would be to bring a gun into a classroom. Read the full opinion-editorial on NJ.com from the Star-Ledger by Jerell Blakeley, WEC [...]

By Debra Coyle|2018-07-05T10:16:13-04:00July 5th, 2018|Highlights, Opinion Pieces, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Murphy’s state bank would help working families, boost local economy

New Jersey has an investment problem. The Garden State's numerous credit downgrades, budget shortfalls, crumbling infrastructure, chronic underfunding of critical programs and priorities are well known. The source of these issues isn't a lack of capital or wealth. New Jersey is among the nation's wealthiest states with a growing millionaire population. Many argue that Jersey's credit woes stem from former Gov. Chris Christie's continuation of ill-advised tax cuts that weakened state coffers, along with an underfunded pension system dating back to the Gov. Christie Whitman years. This irresponsible fiscal policy reinforced backwards, yet persistent notions that hedge funds and enormous corporations should be appeased before tax dollars are invested in small businesses, public services, and working families. New Jersey deposits taxpayer funds directly into Wall Street and foreign banks, coupling tax giveaways with misdirected investments and high fees. Read the full opinion-editorial on NJ.com from the Star-Ledger by Dan Fatton, WEC executive director and Analilia Mejia, executive director of NJ Working Families Alliance.

By Debra Coyle|2018-05-15T15:45:40-04:00May 15th, 2018|Highlights, Opinion Pieces|Comments Off

Debra Coyle

About Debra Coyle