Dear colleague,
Last week, our union’s Executive Council voted to endorse Sue Altman for US Representative of New Jersey’s 7th congressional district. As our endorsement statement reads:
Sue is a candidate with strong connections to education and labor. She was a URA-AFT member at Rutgers-Camden, a former high school teacher, and former executive director of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance. She also walked on our union’s picket lines during the recent strike at Rutgers University. During her tenure as the executive director of the NJ Working Families Alliance, she advocated for various legislation supporting organized labor and workers. (You can read the full endorsement statement here.)
Getting Sue Altman elected in November to replace her MAGA Republican opponent, Rep. Tom Kean Jr., will contribute to our project of building our union’s political power. We have an opportunity as the 2024 election approaches to advance our fight to defend our members at Rutgers and to drive a progressive agenda for New Jersey.
These efforts are organized through our union’s Legislative Committee and authorized by the elected Executive Council. Last week, we asked you to take a few minutes to fill out a survey about what your priorities are and what activities we can rely on you to support. If you haven’t already, please take the time to fill out the survey before Friday, March 8.
You can also help us build political power by making a voluntary contribution to the AFT Committee on Political Education (COPE), our parent union’s political action committee. The COPE pays for expenses related to educating legislators and supporting officeholders and candidates who respect our members, support public higher education, and work toward our union’s goals. Click here to authorize a deduction for the COPE from each of your paychecks. The suggested contribution is $5 per paycheck, but any amount is helpful and should fit your own current circumstances. You can click here to learn more about our union’s COPE.
In solidarity,
Matthew Buckley, Legislative Committee Chair, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
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