NJ AFL-CIO MAKES HISTORY WITH RECORD NUMBER OF LABOR CANDIDATES ELECTED; DEMOCRATS EXPAND ASSEMBLY MAJORITY
From the NJ AFL-CIO, November 4, 2015
The New Jersey State AFL-CIO’s political education program is second to none, and the outstanding results of the November 3 election keep our momentum strong heading into the 2016 presidential race. We led union brothers and sisters to victories across the state, from school board and town council races to mayor, freeholder and state Assembly seats. A record 47 union members won their elections, a phenomenal win ratio of 73% for labor candidates on the ballot. No one delivers election results like our labor candidates program, which raised its total of election victories to 864!
In a remarkable upset, Eric Houghtaling of IBEW 400 and his running mate JoAnn Downey unseated GOP incumbents, taking control of District 11 for the first time in 20 years. Additionally, five incumbent labor officials all won re-election: Thomas Giblin, IUOE 68; Joseph Egan, IBEW 456; Wayne DeAngelo, IBEW 269; Troy Singleton, UBC 715; and Paul Moriarty, AFTRA/SAG. Democrats easily retained control of the state Assembly.
New Jersey’s labor movement was united throughout the campaign season. Our Central Labor Councils, Building Trades Councils, affiliates and volunteers are responsible for the Labor 2015 program’s unparalleled success. Young union workers were more active and involved than ever, and we successfully rolled out an app called MiniVAN, which lets volunteers record labor walk data on their cell phones, replacing traditional paper packets. Young and experienced union members from all sectors of the labor movement joined together to lift our political program to new heights. A united labor movement gives us the power to elect fellow union members and others who will truly represent us and our concerns in office.