PHOTO RELEASE: Gottheimer Hosts Roundtable withLocal Labor Leaders During Government Shutdown

Above: Gottheimer meeting with North Jersey labor leaders.

PARAMUS, NJ — U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) brought together North Jersey labor leaders to discuss ongoing work to help create jobs and support the hard-working men and women of labor, especially during the current government shutdown.

Gottheimer and North Jersey labor leaders discussed the Trump Administration’s recent freeze on Gateway Project funding, as well as the largest cut to Medicaid in history, and the looming expiration of Affordable Care Act premium tax credits — all attacks that will jeopardize good-paying union jobs, threaten infrastructure investment, and drive up health care costs for hundreds of thousands of Jersey families.

“We all stand together in the fight to create better-paying jobs, safer working conditions, more job opportunities, and health care. We have a common goal: the desire to make things better for our hard-working labor force, to gain dignity and respect on the job, and to create economic growth and security for the families we care so deeply about,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), a member of the Congressional Labor Caucus. “On top of slashing our workforce, this Administration has also been cutting protections for workers and critical investments that will kill good-paying union jobs, like their recent attacks on the Gateway Project and on health care. Right now, I’m working around the clock to reopen the governmentto support Jersey, and I will never stop fighting for our men and women of labor.”

Gottheimer was joined by IBEW Local #164 Commissioner Tom Sullivan, Bergen County Central Labor Council President Mike Schneider, Passaic County Central Labor Council President Tom Kelly, BCEA President Sue McBridge, PBA President Peter Andreyev, Port Authority PBA President Frank Conti, Port Authority LBA President James Griglio, Roofers, Waterproofers, and Allied Workers Local 10 President Rich Silva, American Federation of Teachers NJ President Jenniger Higgins, SCEA President Angela DeLuccia, Passaic County Central Labor Council Chairman Pat Glover, IBEW Local #164 Mayor Keith Misciagna, IBEW Local #164 Victor Docherty, IBEW Local #164 Christopher Larson, IBEW Local #164 Vinny Colucci, Pipefitters Local 274 Chet Rozmus, HPAE Vice President Barbara Rosen, HPAE Chris Walem,, PBA member Pat Papero, Port Authority LBA Lt. Matthew Reheis, Salvatore DiGirolamo with the State Troopers Fraternal Association, Larry Hirsch with the American Federation of Government Employees, Michael Pierce with Carpenters Local 253,, Daniel Ortega with Operating Engineers 825, John Alvarado with Operating Engineers 825, FMBA Vice President Kevin Beyrouty, FMBA Northern District Vice President President Ed Mckeown Mike Kenny with Iron Workers Local 11, Kevin Martell  with Teamsters, Robert Soto withSMART Local #137, Councilman Ron Green with the Bricklayers Union, Adolofo Dicosmo with B.A.C Local Union No. 7, JC Farmer with Insulators #32, James Kearnes DC 21, Albert Galvez with IUPAT DC 21, Chris Salguero, and Deborah Cornacava from NJEA.

Gottheimer fighting to support Jersey’s workforce: 

• Gottheimer helped write, negotiate, and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, delivering more than $10 billion to fix Jersey’s crumbling roads and bridges and creating hundreds of thousands of construction and manufacturing jobs — all without increasing the tax burden on our families.
  • Gottheimer also fought hard for strong Davis-Bacon protections in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, ensuring that unions can compete for infrastructure contracts and that workers are well-paid.
• Gottheimer voted against the One Big Beautiful Bill to protect tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs.
• As Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Law Enforcement Caucus, Gottheimer introduced and is fighting to pass the Invest to Protect Act, which makes critical, targeted investments in our local police departments.
• Gottheimer has announced the Fight Fires and Fight Cancer Act to stop extremists from recklessly slashing programs that support firefighters’ safety, training, and health care.
• Gottheimer introduced and is fighting to pass the bipartisan FIRE Cancer Act to provide federal investments so that all firefighters across America — whether volunteer or professional — can get access to preventative tests, including multi-cancer early detection tests.
• As Co-Chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, Gottheimer helped get the Social Security Fairness Act signed into law to ensure workers can get their full public sector pension and Social Security benefits.
• Gottheimer helped introduce the bicameral FAMILY Act to guarantee up to 12 weeks of paid leave for workers who have to take leave for serious medical and family events.
• Gottheimer helped introduce the Protect America’s Workforce Act, which reverses an Executive Order from the current Administration that would eliminate collective bargaining rights across multiple federal agencies.
• Gottheimer supports the Faster Labor Contracts Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation that will speed up the collective bargaining process for newly unionized workers and their employers.
• Gottheimer helped introduce the bicameral Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, which guarantees the right of public service employees to organize and bargain collectively, regardless of state law.
• Gottheimer helped introduce the Tax Fairness for Workers Act, which allows union members to deduct their dues from their taxes.

Below: Gottheimer joined by North Jersey labor leaders.

###