Governor Murphy Calls PATH Labor Situation ‘Unacceptable’ at Town Hall Meeting
Governor Murphy Calls PATH Labor Situation ‘Unacceptable’ at Town Hall Meeting
NJ Governor Discusses Longtime Negotiating Impasse, Vows to Address Issue Directly with Port Authority
JERSEY CITY, NJ — At a virtual town hall meeting held on Thursday night, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy addressed the longstanding negotiating impasse between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the member unions of the PATH Labor Coalition, which have been working without a contract for nearly 10 years. Governor Murphy, a staunch supporter of organized labor, called the situation “unacceptable” and vowed to personally address the issue with Port Authority leadership.
“I want to thank Governor Murphy wholeheartedly for standing up for the 1,000 workers of the PATH Labor Coalition and their families and making it clear that the Port Authority’s refusal to negotiate in good faith cannot be allowed to continue,” said Joseph Dominiczak, President of the PATH Labor Coalition. “We hope the Governor’s involvement will be a wake-up call to Port Authority management. They have repeatedly refused to negotiate in good faith with our members and been totally unwilling to offer a fair compensation package that allows these working men and women to earn a living wage, and that must change now.”
The question, posed by “Tom from Old Bridge” was the following: “The Port Authority of NJ/NY Rail workers have been working without a contract for over nine years, can your office lend a hand to this dispute and get a contract signed? These workers have not had a raise since 2011.”
Governor Murphy responded forcefully, saying, “Tom, the answer is, yes. I am not happy about this. We are a proud union state. I’ll take our place among any state in America. That is something that angers me, Tom. I know it’s out there. It’s lingered far too long. The answer is yes. Deb will help me follow up with the Port Authority to emphasize, once again, emphasize would be a delicate way to put it, to let our opinions be known. This is unacceptable. Period. Tom, god-willing, we will move the needle.”
Video of this portion of the Town Hall meeting is available here: https://twitter.com/PATHLabor/
The PATH Labor Coalition is a group of labor unions collectively representing nearly 1,000 employees of the NY-NJ PATH Train rail system. For more information on the PATH Labor Coalition, please visit our website at www.pathlaborcoalition.com
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