Community, labor groups want pledge from N.J. gubernatorial candidates to protect immigrants, workers from Trump’s policies

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More than 20 community and labor groups are calling on New Jersey gubernatorial candidates to take a stand against President Donald Trump’s administration’s policies they say jeopardize the rights and livelihoods of state residents, including workers and immigrants.

The coalition wants all Democratic and Republican candidates to sign a “Build and Defend New Jersey” challenge pledge, which seeks to “protect access to the ballot, usher in reforms and stop MAGA attacks on our communities and be fully committed to the progressive gains we have made in the Garden State over the past seven years.”

During a Thursday news conference outside the State House, Nedia Morsy, deputy director of Make the Road Action, said federal funding for vital programs that support working families are under attack.

“We need a New Jersey to stand up and say we are here to protect and defend our democracy, to fight the corruption that too often takes center stage in our politics,” she said.

Hetty Rosenstein, who heads up New Jersey Resistance, a group that fights attacks on political and human rights in the Garden State, said who becomes the next governor really matters.

“It matters in this state and in this country, because we’ve been at the forefront of civil rights, of health care access,” she said. “We’re challenging candidates to have a platform that will continue to build in this most diverse state.”

Rosenstein said all organizations and groups in the coalition have signed the pledge.

“We’re doing that together and we’re asking that of some terrific people who are running, some who might be less terrific, we’re hoping that they will step up and that we can support a great candidate,” she said.

New Jersey Citizen Action Executive Director Dena Mottola Jaborska said President Trump’s executive orders and actions threaten immigrants, seniors, the sick and disabled, children, Black and Latino people, the LGBTQ+ community, poor people, women and civil service employees.

“Our next governor must be crystal clear about Trump’s comprehensive assault on the American people and our democracy, he or she must be ready to stand up and fight this assault,” said Mottola Jaborska.

“The vast majority of Americans are in Trump’s line of fire as he pursues a policy agenda that benefits the wealthy and empowers radical extremists who want to dismantle our democratic values.”

She stressed that far too many leaders in the Garden State have been silent about actions taken by the president.

“Their silence is dangerous because it only signals to Trump that it’s okay to continue with the mass cruelty,” she said. “We need our next governor to be strong and tireless in our defense.”

Stephen Johnson is president of CWA Local 1084, a union representing hundreds of employees who administer public assistance for multiple programs, including SNAP and Medicaid benefits.

He warned of an impending crisis, emphasizing that the stakes have never been higher.

“In New Jersey, we need someone [for governor] with a strong commitment to protect our workers, the people we serve and our community,” he said. “We are determined to only back candidates who use their elected office to improve working people’s lives.

Sunni Vargas, political director of the New Jersey Working Families Party, said New Jersey leaders must do everything they can to fight back and protect Garden State residents from harm by this administration.

“It is more important than ever that our next governor will stand for New Jersey values, and not the values of CEOs, we must prioritize the needs of working families,” she said. “We need a governor who will stand up to President Donald Trump, by investing in our schools, expanding access to New Jersey Transit and safeguarding access to health care for women and trans New Jerseyans.”

Coalition leaders plan to make independent evaluations of the candidates, and factor in whether they have signed the Build and Defend pledge, when making their endorsements.

The pledge specifically calls for candidates to:

• Lead actions that both fight cuts in federal funding and create solutions and state-level policy to ensure the continuity of programs and expansion of critical assistance for housing, child-care, food, health care and human needs. Support a state budget that maintains funding for state and local public services, education, transportation and that will, in the event of federal cuts, protect safety net programs by eliminating tax giveaways, and capturing revenues from lowered rates to the wealthy and/or corporations
• Protect democracy in New Jersey, support more inclusive and expanded voting rights, ballot access, the fairness of the ballot including elimination of the county line, and that strengthens public access to public records and information
• Support progressive tax policies that promote equity and support our state’s fiscal health, expand tax credits for low-income and working families. Oppose tax cuts for the wealthiest households and corporations that deepen income inequality and concentrate wealth to the top
• Actively promote state protections from attacks on immigrants. Defend equal protection for all people including sexual orientation, gender, race and all protected classes
• Fight back against the dismantling of regulations that protect the environment, unions, workers, and consumer rights and prevent price gouging

Groups and organizations attending the rally included:

• SEIU 32BJ
• Make the Road Action
• New Jersey Citizen Action
• New Jersey Working Families Party
• CWA District 1
• CWA Local 1014
• CWA Local 1038
• CWA Local 1081
• CWA Local 1065
• CWA Local 1037
• CWA Local 1077
• CWA Local 1089
• 1199SEIU UHWE: NJ Region
• Rutgers AAUP-AFT
• New Jersey Tenants Organization
• New Jersey Public Education Coalition
• Indivisible Garden State Values
• Indivisible Central New Jersey
• Indivisible Highland Park
• IFPTE Local 194
• IFPTE Local 195
• PTLFC-AAUP-AFT (Rutgers Adjunct Union)
• Latino Action Network
• Blue Wave New Jersey
• New Jersey Communities United
• SOMA Action
• Action Together NJ