It’s Time to Cancel Student Loan Debt for Millions of Americans
We know that student debt impacts our current members, our future members and our students. We also know that student debt disproportionately affects people of color, adding it to the long list of social justice issues that must be addressed. That’s why the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) is taking action. NJEA, with partners from the Work Environment Council (WEC), New Jersey Communities United (NJCU), New Jersey Citizen Action (NJCA), NJ Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA), and NJ Department of Education (NJDOE) have formed the “New Jersey Student Loan Debt Alliance” which seeks to tackle the issue of student [...]
Methylene Chloride Deaths Highlight Need for EPA Action
A peer-reviewed study published in JAMA Internal Medicine finds that 85 people have been killed by the dangerous solvent methylene chloride in the last 4 decades. The study notes that even these numbers don’t capture the full scope of harm, because many deaths likely are unreported, and deaths likely to have occurred due to exposure may not have identified methylene chloride as the cause of death. The study assessed verified deaths from acute exposures but does not capture the harms, including cancer, caused by chronic exposure. Read more: https://www.nrdc.org/experts/daniel-rosenberg/methylene-chloride-deaths-highlight-need-epa-action
Offshore wind seen as energy and jobs opportunity for New Jersey
Offshore wind has the potential to produce about 90% of the electricity the United States is projected to need in 2050 even if fossil fuels were fully phased out, with New Jersey in position to be among the leading states, according to a new report issued Thursday. Not all of that technical potential for offshore wind energy will be developed – nor should it, says the report from the Frontier Group and Environment America Research & Policy Center. Read More: Offshore wind an energy and jobs opportunity for New Jersey | https://nj1015.com/offshore-wind-seen-as-energy-and-jobs-opportunity-for-new-jersey/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
Governor Murphy Announces Members of the New Jersey Council on the Green Economy
Statement from Debra Coyle McFadden on being appointed to NJ Council on the Green Economy I am honored to be selected to serve on the Green Economy Council and want to thank Governor Murphy for this opportunity. I look forward to working with the other members of the Council to ensure NJ's green economy works for workers. As we look for opportunities to maximize clean energy jobs, we need to make sure these are family-sustaining, union jobs with strong worker protections -- and that they are accessible to marginalized workers who have traditionally been left behind. This is a once in a generation opportunity and [...]
Murphy urged to end NJ Transit, clean energy fund diversions
In advance of Gov. Phil Murphy’s budget plan being proposed Tuesday, groups have begun publicly pressing for him to end longstanding budget practices that shortchange priorities. Among the issues on that lengthy list are NJ Transit, which uses money from its capital program to pay operating costs, and the Board of Public Utilities clean-energy funds that are perennially diverted from their intended purpose to offset costs at NJT and elsewhere in state government. A coalition of groups under the banner Jersey Renews said in a letter to Murphy that the clean energy funds collected from ratepayers on electric bills are supposed [...]
N.J. steelworkers and windmills — perfect together | Opinion
Victor Teran and his colleagues at Banker Steel in South Plainfield go to work every day proud that their skill and dedication keep some of New York City’s biggest buildings sturdy and safe. Skyscraper developers buy steel fabricated by Teran and about 200 other members of United Steelworkers Local 8288-67 because they understand their need for top-quality material meticulously produced by highly trained workers nearby. Read the entire opinion piece here.