The 2021 departure from the Legislature of Senate President Steve Sweeney began to more significantly shift the composition of the Statehouse away from Building Trades power, distributing influence more obviously into the auspices of county chairs who double as lobbyists.

This year, a decision by long-serving Assemblyman Tom Giblin of Essex County to retire, further demonstrated the loss of power in the legislature by critical, foundational Building Trades New Jersey leaders.

Assemblyman Joe Egan of Middlesex County, another Building Trades stalwart, also retired, along with the announcement of retirement by Senator Fred Madden, a key Sweeney ally and longtime chair of the Senate Labor Committee.

Significant.

That said, William Mullen and the Building Trades continued to exercise an upper-hand on the jobs-front, especially with the influx of federal dollars for critical infrastructure projects.

In addition, veteran Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo (D-14) consolidated independent power within the Building Trades universe as he opted to stand with his running mate, Senator Linda Greenstein (D-14), sooner than ignite a countywide war in Mercer to advance the specific strategic designs of South Jersey Democrats.

The labor movement would also rely on other lawmakers to step up, and their names appear on the list below, significantly in the area of temporary worker protections.

Most immediately, as this annual issue went to press, InsiderNJ monitored from the ground the nurses’ strike at RWJ-New Brunswick.

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