(NEW JERSEY) – Under the Watchful Eye of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, Two Labor Legislators Have Shepherded a Package of Buy American Bills Through the State Legislature, Which Were Approved by the State Assembly During the Final Voting Session of 2014.  The State Senate Passed the Jobs-Creation Package Back in June, Which Would Help Strengthen State’s Many Communities by Bringing Back Jersey Jobs.

The Main Bill Requires Public Contracts to be Filled by Using U.S.-Made Goods Whenever Possible and Financially Feasible.  The Bill, Which Would Generate Badly-Needed Manufacturing and Fabricating Jobs in the Garden State, Was Sponsored by Senate President Steve Sweeney, an Ironworker With Local 399 and Assemblyman Joe Egan of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 456.

With So Many Foreign Governments Subsidizing Their Manufacturers and So Many Foreign Companies Undercutting Their Employees’ Wages, Buy American Bills Simply Level the Playing Field for Domestic Manufacturers and U.S. Workers by Allowing Them to Compete Fairly for Supply Contracts. 

The Legislation Now Heads to Governor Chris Christie.  

While The Measure Enjoyed Near-Unanimous (36-to-1) Bipartisan Support in the Senate, the 44-to-25 Vote (With Six Abstentions and Six Members Not Voting) in the Assembly Was Mostly Along Party Lines.  Three Republicans Supported Labor and Voted Yes, While One Democrat Voted No And Two Others Abstained. 

The Governor Also Will See Four Companion Bills Covering Bi-State Agencies Like the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Which Has Contracted With An Italian Steelmaker for Material for a $1.2 Billion Upgrade to the Bayonne Bridge – a Decision That Put Hundreds of U.S. Steelworkers Out of Work. 

That Same Italian Vendor Provided Steel for the New Rail-Subway Center to Replace the One Damaged in the 9/11 Terrorist Attack at the World Trade Center.  Some of the Foreign Steel Was Delivered Pre-Fabricated, Adding to America's Job Losses.

New Jersey Has Lagged in the Region in Recovering Jobs Lost Since the Recession.  In Fact, the State Would Need to Generate 64,000 New Manufacturing Jobs Just to Return to 2001 Levels.

The State Legislation is Both Badly Needed and Long Overdue, According to the New Jersey State AFL-CIO.  The Governor Signing the Legislation Would Mean Regional Public Projects in New Jersey Can be Completed by U.S. Workers - Rather Than by Foreign Competitors at the Expense of Local Workers, Union Representatives say.