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Can NJ's Democrats rely on support from labor? We'll Ask Governor Murphy Monday
By
Nancy Solomon
Published Oct 31, 2022
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Gov. Phil Murphy speaks with Nancy Solomon for "Ask Governor Murphy" earlier this year.
By
Nancy Solomon
Published Oct 31, 2022
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“Ask Governor Murphy” — your chance to present questions to New Jersey’s governor live, on-air — returns Monday, Oct. 31.
Listen Live on WNYC. “Ask Governor Murphy” is a production of WBGO in Newark, in partnership with WNYC and WHYY. It’s hosted by WNYC and Gothamist reporter Nancy Solomon.
Waning support from labor?
In Gov. Phil Murphy’s first term, he built labor support by passing an ambitious agenda that included raising the minimum wage and requiring equal pay for women and earned sick leave. But some of that support is fracturing.
One of New Jersey’s public employee unions, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, says it plans to sue the Murphy Administration for racial and gender discrimination. The union objects to raising the pay for corrections officers, who are mostly white men, while not doing the same for workers at the state’s health care facilities, who are largely black women.
Other workers’ rights organizations are frustrated that the state Legislature has not passed a bill protecting temporary workers. And many public employees are seeing their health care insurance premiums go up.
These cracks in labor support for Murphy and state Democrats have landed on the eve of a critical election for Democrats both in New Jersey and nationally. Is the Democratic Party able to keep the working class among its ranks?
We’ll ask Murphy about it, and about why health care workers aren’t getting a pay raise.
Here are some other issues we might ask Murphy about:
- It’s been 10 years since Hurricane Sandy caused nearly $40 billion in damage to New Jersey. One of the recovery efforts at the Jersey Shore focused on replenishing sand dunes. But since most coastal flooding comes from the bay side of the barrier islands, is all that sand worth the cost?
- Murphy is a co-owner of the Gotham FC women’s soccer team, which was included in a report that detailed abusive behavior by the team’s coach.
- At Rutgers University, adjunct professors are fighting for a contract while the football program spends lavishly. A report by NorthJersey.com found the Rutgers football program spent $450,000 just on DoorDash deliveries in one year alone.
Those are just some of the topics on our minds, but we want to hear from you.
What will you ask Governor Murphy?
- Ask your question online at this Google form or tweet at us by using #AskGovMurphy
- Or call 844-677-9283 to join us on the air.
Tagged
new jersey
Politics
Nancy Solomon
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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