WEST CALDWELL – Tom Giblin, business manager of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 68, today announced the endorsement of Senator Steve Sweeney for reelection in the Third Legislative District, giving the Senate President the support of the union’s 5,800 members. Local 68 is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest union of public employees.

“Steve Sweeney is a union man and a working man who understands the needs of working families,” said Mr. Giblin. “Labor unions continue to face many political challenges that call for strong and decisive leadership. Sweeney is a fighter who can be counted on to do the right things. That is why I am endorsing him for reelection.”

A previous president of Local 68, Mr. Giblin served as chairman of the board of trustees for the union’s pension, welfare, education, and annuity funds. He is the President of the Essex-West Hudson Labor Council, AFL-CIO.  He also serves on the advisory boards of the Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations and the Seton Hall University College of Arts and Sciences.

Mr. Giblin was elected into the Assembly in 2005, re-elected in 2007, 2009 and 2011. He was chairman of the New Jersey State Democratic Committee from 1997 to 2001. He also served as chairman of the Essex County Democratic Committee from 1993 to 2002.

Giblin said that Sweeney has fought for policies and projects that create jobs and contribute to economic growth. He also referred to Sweeney’s support for the law requiring quarterly payments to the state’s pension funds with steady and reliable increases to restore fiscal solvency to the retirement funds, his forceful advocacy for an increased minimum wage, equal pay for women, health care reforms that provide savings for employees and reduce prescription drug costs.

“Having Steve Sweeney as the President of the Senate is a real plus for organized labor,” said Giblin. “I have worked with him from the Assembly and I can say that he is a trusted ally and a man of his word.”