The Laborers’ International Union of North America is throwing their support behind Rob Menendez in the 8th District congressional race.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Rob Menendez has proven himself to be the best candidate for this important office. More importantly, Rob Menendez has shown that he understands the issues families face and the urgency to actually get things done on their behalf,” LIUNA Vice President and Eastern Regional Manager Raymond M. Pocino said in a statement.
“He is not only right on our issues—things like job creation, infrastructure investment, access to affordable healthcare, and protecting the right of workers to form a union—he also has the knowledge, drive, and temperament to deliver results. Results, after all, not words, are what define good governing.”
LIUNA also pledged to be involved with member outreach, labor walks, and get out the vote (GOTV) activities.
Menendez, who has several labor endorsements including AFSCME New Jersey Council 63, IBEW Local 164, the Communication Workers of America, and the Hudson County Central Labor Council, was of course happy to accept their support.
“I am proud to have the support of the men and women of LIUNA, who are behind so many of the projects transforming our regional infrastructure,” Menendez added.
“In Congress, I will fight to ensure that the 8th District gets every dollar and cent it deserves from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and for funding for the Gateway Project so that members of unions like LIUNA can continue to contribute to fixing our outdated infrastructure while being compensated for their skilled labor. I look forward to again working with Ray to make the daily lives of our residents better.”
The Democratic primary is on June 7th, with Menendez, a lawyer, Port Authority commissioner, and the son of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), favored to succeed U.S. Rep. Albio Sires, who is retiring at the end of the year after eight terms.
Still, he must defeat David Ocampo Grajales and Ane Roseborough-Eberhard to advance to the general election, where the Democratic nominee is all but guaranteed to cruise to victory in the navy blue 8th District.
Sad. This guy has no clue about unions or real working people. He has done absolutely zero for labor rights, never talks about our issues, and is just using his dad to introduce him to union leaders that don’t want to rock the boat.
Union members, wise up! There is a real alternative! David Ocampo Grajales comes from a working class background and has real positions about labor issues. This is from his website (https://www.ocampo2022.com/) under “Issues”:
Labor Rights
Unions empower the workers who make our economy function. David is a strong support of unions and in Congress he’ll fight tirelessly to secure the right of every worker to collectively bargain. From his experience working in the environmental compliance and safety industry, David understands that unionized workers are more likely to assert their rights and report violations. He’s also seen the inverse, where non-unionized workplaces are happy to pay a fine if it costs less than taking safety measures.
Other than passing federal legislation, David believes that unions are our best hope for ensuring that all workers receive a living wage, good benefits, and safe conditions. Our campaign is leading by example: our banking is union, our printing is union, and our mailing is union.
David supports:
Passing H.R.842 – PRO Act to secure the right of worker to collectively bargain
Conditioning government funds, contracts, and subsidies on the use of union labor
Expanding the NLRA to cover domestic and agricultural workers
Closing loopholes in Antitrust laws that prevent contractors and gig workers from joining a union
Legislation to protect workers in labor disputes from immigration enforcement or the threat of immigration enforcement.
Compare that to Menendez who doesn’t even have the word “labor” on his website.
Together in solidarity, we can elect David Ocampo Grajales to fight for us, not the corporate interests.
It would be great to elect a real progressive and not crown an heir. We’ll see if Democrats have the guts.