Post by Logan on Jun 16, 2016 16:27:28 GMT -6
JERSEY CITY — Dozens of union workers who would benefit from a pair of measures intended to support janitors, maids and security guards rallied in front of City Hall yesterday to urge passage of the bills, which face an uncertain future in the face of wobbly council support.
The rally, organized by labor union 32BJ, was billed as a commemoration of Justice for Janitors Day, which recognizes a Los Angeles janitors' strike that ended in a riot in 1990, but yesterday's event largely focused on the two stalled measures, one of which would require a 30-hour minimum workweek for some building-service workers. 32BJ represents thousands of those workers.
"Here in Jersey City we have a tale of two cities," said Council President Rolando Lavarro, who backs both bills. "It's a city with those in the 1 percent, who own the shiny new towers that line our Waterfront ... meanwhile the rest of us 99 percent struggle, living paycheck to paycheck, working two or three part-time jobs just to get by."
Freeholder Bill O'Dea, of Jersey City, expressed his support for Lavarro's measures, dubbed the Better Jobs Act and the Displaced Worker Protection Act. O'Dea compared the proposals to laws that sought to end racial discrimination nationwide.
Read more: www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2016/06/union_workers_rally_in_support_of_stalled_jersey_c.html
The rally, organized by labor union 32BJ, was billed as a commemoration of Justice for Janitors Day, which recognizes a Los Angeles janitors' strike that ended in a riot in 1990, but yesterday's event largely focused on the two stalled measures, one of which would require a 30-hour minimum workweek for some building-service workers. 32BJ represents thousands of those workers.
"Here in Jersey City we have a tale of two cities," said Council President Rolando Lavarro, who backs both bills. "It's a city with those in the 1 percent, who own the shiny new towers that line our Waterfront ... meanwhile the rest of us 99 percent struggle, living paycheck to paycheck, working two or three part-time jobs just to get by."
Freeholder Bill O'Dea, of Jersey City, expressed his support for Lavarro's measures, dubbed the Better Jobs Act and the Displaced Worker Protection Act. O'Dea compared the proposals to laws that sought to end racial discrimination nationwide.
Read more: www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2016/06/union_workers_rally_in_support_of_stalled_jersey_c.html