Posts tagged Phil Murphy
Commentary: He Laughed Out Loud
October 2, 2025 // The Labor Department is part of the Murphy administration. The governor has the power to rescind this proposal, to protect the incomes and careers of New Jersey’s estimated 1.7 million independent contractors. He’s choosing not to do it, while laughing about it.
A Taft-Hartley Roundup of Recent Labor News
June 25, 2025 // For just shy of 80 years, conservative Americans and the Republican Party that provides their imperfect electoral vehicle have sought to advance a policy consensus on labor relations based on three principles: ensuring union membership and participation is voluntary, scrutinizing unions’ operations in exchange for their government-granted powers, and protecting the public from the fallout from labor disputes. As America sits by the pool at the beginning of what might prove to be a long, hot summer, what news is there about the Taft-Hartley consensus?
NJ Transit, engineers’ union reach deal to end strike and resume service Tuesday
May 18, 2025 // Neither Murphy nor the engineers' union shared the specific details of the agreement. “While I won’t get into the exact details of the deal reached, I will say that the only real issue was wages and we were able to reach an agreement that boosts hourly pay beyond the proposal rejected by our members last month
NJ Transit engineers on strike after contract negotiations fail — wreaking havoc on commuters
May 16, 2025 // The union said in a statement Thursday that its engineers are the “lowest paid locomotive engineers working for a commuter railroad in the nation” — claims NJ Transit has denied. With the strike on, its members will form picket lines across the system starting at 4 a.m. Friday morning, at locations that include outside NJ Transit’s Headquarters in Newark (2 Gateway Center), Penn Station in New York City (8th Avenue and 33rd Street entrance) and the Atlantic City Rail Terminal. NJ Transit posted flyers and digital signage at major transit hubs in recent days, including the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan, warning of a “critical service advisory” and that customers should “complete their travels and arrive at their final destination no later than 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, May 15.”
State labor department proposes new rules for independent contractor status
April 29, 2025 // The notice of proposal for new rules will be published in the May 5, 2025, issue of the New Jersey Register, and there will be a 60-day period beginning that day during which the NJDOL will accept written comments on the proposed new rules. The proposed rules outline the application of the ABC test, which is critical in determining whether a worker should be classified as an employee or an independent contractor under various New Jersey statutes, including but not limited to the Unemployment Compensation Law, the Wage and Hour Law, and the Wage Payment Law. The proposed rules include detailed guidelines for evaluating the three parts of the ABC test, ensuring that employers are well-informed and better equipped to make appropriate classification decisions.
Clock ticks for NJTransit, engineer’s union to reach labor deal
January 22, 2025 // The agency and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen are in a two-month-long cooling period. The two sides have been locked in ongoing talks for more than four years without success, leading to former President Joe Biden calling in two presidential emergency boards to help break the ice. The first board sided with NJTransit but recommended that the agency raise its initial wage offer. A second board is set to release its own recommendations on Wednesday.
When New Jersey Hiked Minimum Wages, Fast Food Prices Rose
January 14, 2025 // Today, New Jersey's minimum wage is a little more than $15 per hour, thanks to a provision that automatically raises the minimum wage along with inflation. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania's minimum wage is $7.25, which is the federally mandated level. Interestingly, the study found that menu price hikes did not occur immediately after the minimum wage increases. Rather, it took an average of about six weeks for menu prices to rise.
Commentary: Ability to Read, Write, or Do Math Is No Longer Required to Teach in New Jersey
January 7, 2025 // Teachers’ unions prevail in New Jersey. Kids will suffer.
Union Boss Under Fire as Atlantic City Casino Smoking Battle Heats Up
December 6, 2024 // Ray Jensen, assistant director of United Auto Workers (UAW) Region 9, called for the resignation of Donna DeCaprio, president of Local 54 Unite Here, accusing her of failing to protect casino workers from the dangers of secondhand smoke. Jensen's union represents dealers at three Atlantic City casinos and is currently involved in litigation to end smoking in gambling establishments.
Biden Backs ILA Strikers Warning Shippers on Price Spikes
October 2, 2024 // “Now is not the time for ocean carriers to refuse to negotiate a fair wage for these essential workers while raking in record profits,” Biden said in a statement from the White House. “My administration will be monitoring any price gouging activity that benefits foreign ocean carriers, including those on the USMX board.”