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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
"The labor movement has stood strong for decades under the banner of “an injury to one is an injury to all.” Our organizations have recognized that it’s time we applied this slogan to the environment. For centuries, we have been injuring the earth, using resources with abandon, and ignoring the science on carbon emissions. [...]
New Jersey is the most densely populated state and one of the largest automobile markets in the country. Known for its population density and highways, New Jersey has a large number of commuters with lots of cars on the road, nearly all the time. New Jersey also has a robust transit network with more [...]
Entire school districts are shutting down due to mold contamination and fears of asbestos exposure. Students are unable to drink from water fountains due to worries about high lead levels. Classroom temperatures reach triple digits in the spring and are freezing cold in the winter. A middle school shut down for months because of [...]
According to a 2014 report by the Institute of Education Services, the average age of public school buildings in the United States is 44 years. This is an increase of four years from the last time the survey was conducted in 1999. Moreover, here in New Jersey, the average age of public school buildings [...]
The landmark 2010 Offshore Wind Economic Development Act should have made New Jersey a national leader in offshore wind. Yet, for seven years, little action has been taken to capitalize on this opportunity for creating family-sustaining jobs, increasing clean energy production, and stimulating economic development. Governor Christie, much like the Trump Administration has stalled, and [...]
The latest hurricane disasters are yet another wake-up call. Climate change is happening and causing sea-level rise, worsening storm surges, increasing air temperatures that lead to more rainfall, and boosting water temperatures — all of which make storms more severe. July 2017 was the hottest month ever measured on earth, raising the temperature (up to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer [...]
Christie was decisive in finding $300 million to address emergency conditions at the Statehouse. However, the very conditions the governor decried in the Statehouse exist in public schools across New Jersey. Unfortunately, his approach to addressing similar, or worse, emergency conditions in Schools Development Authority (SDA) public schools has been woefully inadequate. Under Abbott [...]