Norcross Elected to Serve as Vice Chair of Congressional Progressive Caucus

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01) was unanimously elected to serve as Vice Chair and Liaison to Labor for Congressional Progressive Caucus in the 116^th Congress.

“It’s an honor to represent America’s working families in this new role in the largest Democratic caucus. This is a continuation of my lifelong fight to defend hardworking men and women and make certain that every person has the dignity of a good-paying job,” said Congressman Norcross. “I’ve worked on bridges and buildings across South Jersey, and now I’m working to build bridges in Washington.”

A union leader and electrician by trade, Norcross has a long history of fighting for workers in New Jersey. Norcross is a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 351 and served as their business agent for years, negotiating with employees and employers. He also led the Southern New Jersey AFL-CIO Central Labor Council and Building Trades Council for 17 years.

Norcross added: “I know the struggles that America’s working families are facing because I’ve been there myself. I was once a single parent having to balance work, family life and my checkbook; and when work was slow or I was injured on the job, I was thankful for unemployment and disability insurance. I look forward to sharing my experiences with my colleagues and newly-elected peers and working together to stand up for our union brothers and sisters and all working Americans.”

Since being elected to Congress in 2014, Norcross has prioritized issues of importance to the American worker. He’s advocated strongly for pay equity for women, retirement security and the proper enforcement of U.S. Department of Labor and NLRB regulations that protect our workforce. He sat in the U.S. Supreme Court during opening arguments for both Janus v. AFSCME andFriedrichs v. California Teachers Association and, surrounding both cases, loudly advocated for unions and workers’ rights. He also broke new ground as a co-founder of the Congressional Building Trades Caucus, which educates fellow Members about construction careers, the value of apprenticeships, Project Labor Agreements and Davis-Bacon laws, among other critical issues for working men and women.

Norcross was also selected as a Co-Chair of the Rebuilding America Task Force by the Democratic Caucus because of his experiences working on actual infrastructure projects throughout his career and was appointed to the Joint Select Committee on the Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans by Leader Pelosi because of his knowledge of and participation in the pension system as both a rank-and-file worker and negotiator.

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