Opinion Pieces

The governor has forced communities with the oldest, most dilapidated schools to wait years for emergency repairs. New Jersey school children who want safe, productive learning environments got a useful civics lesson this month from Gov. Chris Christie: "Watch out for politicians who say one thing but do another." Full Article by Elizabeth Smith, Executive Director, Statewide Education Organizing Committee and Mo Kinberg, Campaign Organizer, WEC February 28, 2013 - The Star Ledger

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Gov. Christie and all New Jersey residents can learn from previous disasters to prevent further damage to our lives, health and safety. Full Article by John Pajak, Vice President, Teamsters Local 877 & WEC President January 5, 2013 - The Star Ledger

How safe should we be from highly dangerous chemicals such as those released into New Jersey's air by the recent fire at Dow Chemical's plant in Bristol, Pa? Gov. Chris Christie and his corporate backers have one answer. The rest of us, whose health may be threatened by chemical hazards, have another. Full Article by Cecelia Leto, Program Coordinator WEC May 23, 2012 - Times of Trenton

Let's say you or someone you know works in or owns a small or medium-size business. You know that if that business complies with public safeguards that protect employees, customers, the surrounding community and the environment, it won't have to worry about unfair competition. After all, every business has to follow those safeguards. There is a fair, level playing field because the rules are established by law and apply to everyone. But now, Gov. Chris Christie has issued an executive order that drastically tilts that playing field in favor of a few wealthy, politically connected corporations and jeopardizes jobs for the rest of us. Full Article by Joyce Sagi, member of the Executive Board of the Union of Rutgers Administrators (AFT Local 1766) and WEC Board of Directors April 6, 2012 - Asbury Park Press

Most New Jersey residents take it for granted that "someone" is protecting our health from toxic chemicals in our drinking water or the air we breathe. Or from unsafe pesticides or radiation. Or from preventable disasters like the BP Gulf Coast oil spill or the recent nuclear meltdown in Japan. Unless New Jersey communities speak up, however, that "someone" will no longer be providing those vital safeguards. Full Article by Debra Coyle McFadden, Assistant Director, WEC March 31, 2012 - Courier Post (of Camden)

At a time when Wall Street has devastated American jobs and small businesses, it is now involved in a new kind of "hostile takeover." This time, it's the state agencies that protect us as workers, consumers and community residents. Full Article by Moriah Kinberg, Campaign Organizer, WEC March 7, 2012 - The Record

The health of your family or small business may be jeopardized by an executive order issued by Gov. Chris Christie that is now being implemented by state agencies. Executive Order No. 2, issued the day Christie took office, directs every state agency to establish a procedure for giving individual corporations a "waiver" from complying with virtually any legally adopted public safeguard that protects us. Full Article by John Pajak, Vice President, Teamsters Local 877 & WEC President February 26, 2012 - The Star Ledger

Should corporate lobbyists decide whether safe equipment and procedures are needed if you or a loved one have to go to a hospital or nursing home? Or should health care professionals make those decisions? That's the type of issue being debated in our Statehouse and in Congress over safeguards that protect the public's health and safety. Full Article by Ann Twomey, President, Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE) and Chrystal Disant, Health and Safety Chair, HPAE Local 5004 and a member of WEC Board of Directors January 13, 2012 - The Star Ledger

All schoolchildren should be provided with a learning environment in which the roof and pipes don't leak, the electrical system poses no hazards and the classroom air isn't tainted with asbestos, lead, mold or other toxic contaminants. Yet New Jersey today gets an "F" for failing to meet that responsibility. Full Article by Eileen Senn, WEC Industrial Hygiene Consultant November 15, 2011 - The Star Ledger

Why are we safer now? Because more than 25 years ago, a coalition of New Jersey labor, environmental and community organizations took the lead to persuade our state legislature and Congress to pass landmark laws giving workers and community residents the "Right to Know" about toxic chemicals used in industrial and many other facilities. Full Article by Rick Engler, WEC Director October 23, 2011 - The Record of Bergen County