“When I hear Atlantic City Electric will no longer recognize Veterans Day as a holiday; when I hear families’ health benefits are being canceled right before Christmas; when I hear in South Jersey any company, let alone a publicly regulated utility, has the audacity to scold its employees and tell them it’s offensive for wanting to start their meetings by pledging allegiance to our great American flag, it’s clear that this strike is much bigger than the traditional dispute between business and labor,” said Congressman Van Drew. “It goes to the very heart of who we are here in South Jersey and what type of community we want to be. This crap may fly in Chicago, Philadelphia, or Washington, but it sure as hell isn’t going to fly here, which begs the question as to whether this cultural shift would be happening if Atlantic City Electric was still locally owned and operated.

“Atlantic City Electric already raised its rates earlier this year and is about to slam its customers with another rate increase next week and has yet another rate increase planned shortly after the new year,” added Congressman Van Drew. “Enough is enough. These men and women, as well as their families, deserve the stability of a fair contract especially at a time when we’re making record investments in our nation’s infrastructure. We need the best and brightest focused on strengthening our electric grid and eliminating any vulnerabilities America’s enemies could try to exploit rather than on the latest woke corporate nonsense.”