Story and photo by Jay Cook
RED BANK – In a showing of both solidarity and disappointment, unemployed workers suffering from a halt in construction throughout the state took peaceful protests to the Two River area earlier this week.
On Aug. 23, the Laborers’ International Union for North America (LIUNA) converged on Red Bank and Middletown to voice their displeasure to state elected officials regarding the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) and its depleted bank account.
On Tuesday, the TTF, which is used to fund the planning, construction, engineering and repairs of bridges and roadways in New Jersey, reached the 54-day mark since Gov. Chris Christie first announced its funding had ceased.
The unemployed workers are calling on senators throughout the state to take action in reinvigorating the TTF.
An advertisement truck, which the Laborers’ Union of North America (LIUNA) used throughout the day, projected blaring music and pro-TTF ads on the body.
“They (state officials) know the importance of this, they know what transportation means, but I don’t think they understand the urgency of why they have to do it now,” said LIUNA spokesman Rob Lewandowski.
Dressed in bright orange shirts, about three dozen LIUNA members gathered outside Sen. Jennifer Beck’s Red Bank office on Monmouth Street Tuesday afternoon, using whistles and music to grab attention. Earlier in the day, the same group was outside of Sen. Joseph M. Kyrillos’ office in Middletown and at the foot of the southbound side of the Route 35 bridge to Red Bank.
LIUNA embarked on this protest campaign two weeks ago, and has traveled the state spreading awareness for the political traffic jam they are currently caught in.
Lewandowski said that about 1,400 members of his union have lost their jobs since the TTF was run dry, and it could not have come at a worse time.
“The fact is, this would be like retail (businesses) losing the Christmas and holiday season,” he said, in regards to summer as the key construction season in New Jersey.
Recently laid-off Victoria Barden, who was a foreman at George Harms Construction Company in Howell for the past year, said that state officials need to step up to the plate.
“It’s not a matter of Democrats and Republicans, it’s a matter of potholes and bridges,” said the Berkeley Township resident.
Barden, along with about 50 other workers, saw their last day of work on Aug. 17. She considered herself to be one of the lucky few who made it through to the second round of layoffs.
One veteran union laborer who was not afforded that opportunity was Jackson resident Wayne Goldman.
“I just got forced into retirement after 31 years because they won’t release the money for the transportation fund,” said Goldman, who was a member of Local #172.
While he does have a partial pension still coming in the mail monthly, the balancing act between mortgage payments and ensuring his college-student daughter can make it through the semester, the TTF depletion has worn him down.
When asked if he had seen a similar occurrence in his career, Goldman responded by saying “Never. I’ve seen ups and downs, some years we’re slow and some years we’re really busy, but now it’s completely dead.”
“Everybody is responsible for putting us in this situation, but everyone can be part of the solution,” Lewandowski said.
